120610 Embracing Our Differences celebrates diversity through the arts

  • By Sharon Haught
  • November 28, 2010
  • 286
                        
Since 2007 the Embracing Our Differences Ohio exhibit has brought a powerful message to the greater Wayne County community that it is important to focus on what unites the community, not what divides it. As the Embracing Our Differences steering committee prepared for submissions for its 2011 display, on November 22 co-chairs Stephen Shapiro and Gil Ning recounted for the members of the Wooster Rotary Club the history of their important endeavor. According to Shapiro the idea for Embracing Our Differences Ohio was born when a group of local community members saw a similar exhibit in Sarasota, Florida “and were so taken aback by its message that we felt it was important to bring it to Wooster.” In its inaugural year, committee members went out into the community and schools asking for artwork and quotes emphasizing the importance of diversity. A panel of judges selected the best 39 pieces, which like the Sarasota exhibit, were initially displayed on 16 by 12 foot billboards at ATI, Cleveland Clinic Wooster and Ingenuity Fest at Playhouse Square in Cleveland. When windstorms destroyed both the 2008 and 2009 exhibits the committee discovered that it would be cost prohibitive to construct billboards that wouldn’t be destroyed again in another storm and began actively looking for another means to display the artwork and quotations. “That second windstorm ended up being a godsend because what we decided was we wanted to take the exhibit to the people, not the people to the exhibit,” said Shapiro adding “it was sort of like preaching to the choir because the people who came out for it weren’t necessarily the people who needed the message.” The decision the committee made changed the character of the exhibit entirely. “We miniaturized the display and we decided instead to exhibit it in a number of places throughout the community,” said Shapiro noting that the smaller poster size exhibit was first displayed at the Wayne County Public Library in 2009. According to Ning the smaller display was also set up at the 2009 Ethnic Fair and later at Leadership Wooster and Junior Leadership Wooster events. For 2010 the committee also produced two foot by three foot banners in addition to the poster size display and a teacher’s guide for teaching diversity in the classroom. According to Ning throughout 2010 the committee has been “brining the display to the people” at such venues as the Ethnic Fair, Home and Garden Show, Career Center, Wayne Center for the Arts, Italian Festival, Arts Jazz Festival, College of Wooster Parents Weekend, ATI Student Day, Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast, Troutman Wine Festival and NAACP dinner. During the October 26 Wooster City Schools Board of Education meeting during which students whose works was selected for the 2010 exhibit were recognized, Superintendent Michael Tefs acknowledged the work of the Embracing Our Differences committee and spoke of “how honored we are to have this program be a part of this community and this school system.” As Tefs thumbed through the Embracing Our Differences exhibit book he noted that through the exhibit viewers can see “how we celebrate diversity” and acknowledged the efforts of the students “for contributing to the important work.” According to co-chair Ferenc Relle the group received “over 1300 entries in the last four years and almost 60 percent have been from the Wooster City Schools.” Ning spoke of the group’s efforts to encourage other members of the community to contribute quotations and art celebrating diversity. The organization is accepting submissions for the 2011 exhibit through January 18. Information on submissions can be found on the Embracing Our Differences Ohio web site – www. embracingourdifferencesohio.org.


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