The traveling exhibition entitled “Forbidden Art” created by concentration camp prisoners while imprisoned by the Nazis during World War II has opened in the City of Wixom’s library.

The reception featured guest speaker Teresa Wontor-Cichy, an historian at the Research Center of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum of Poland.

The opening reception to welcome this extraordinary exhibit was March 19 at the Wixom Community Center.

The reception featured guest speaker Teresa Wontor-Cichy, an historian at the Research Center of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum of Poland. She is the author of several historical publications, including Imprisoned for Their Faith: Jehovah’s Witnesses in KL Auschwitz and Clergy and Religious Practices in Auschwitz. Ms. Wontor-Cichy completed several seminars, workshops and programs, among them the Seminar in Holocaust Studies in Yad Vashem (2005, 2008), and “Memorial Sites as a Key for Future Education” organized by the Secretariat of the International Commission for the Evaluation of the Crimes of the Nazi and the Soviet Occupation Regimes in Lithuania (2012). She is the historical consultant for many documentary films about Auschwitz history, earning her a page on IMDb.com. She is a noted lecturer on several aspects of Auschwitz camp history including different Auschwitz prisoners groups, the SS garrison, medical crime, evacuation and liberation of the camp. Ms. Wontor-Cichy received her master’s degree from Catholic University in Lublin, Faculty of Humanities, Institute of History.

Guests also enjoyed the music of celebrity violinist Sonia Lee. Ms. Lee has performed with the Three Tenors, Joni Mitchell, Billy Joel, Rod Stewart, Diana Ross, Paul McCartney, the Toronto Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and many more. Ms. Lee has performed for CNN’s Larry King and was featured in the first season of the television show America’s Got Talent.

JJ Przewozniak, Curator of Collections for The Polish Mission of the Orchard Lake Schools.

Forbidden Art will be at the Wixom Public Library from March 20 through April 6, 2017. The exhibit is made possible by the Wixom Downtown Development Authority, the Wixom Community Foundation, and local sponsors. The exhibit was developed and is presented in North America by The Polish Mission of the Orchard Lake Schools in exclusive partnership with the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum. It has been displayed at prominent institutions such as the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, West Point, the Hoover Museum, and UCLA. The City of Wixom exhibit is funded in part through a grant provided by the Michigan Council for Arts & Cultural Affairs and the Anton Art Center.

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In Recognition of Wixom’s Generous Sponsors:
AFP Sound Systems
Al Maidah
BPI Information Systems
Century Construction
CIB Planning
Downtown Wixom Development Co.
Drafting Table Brewing Company
Ellen and David Dickson
Frames Plus More
Hubbell, Roth & Clark, Inc.
Johnson Rosati Schultz Joppich PC
Michigan Community Insurance Agency
Mickey Shapiro Charitable Trust
PNC Bank
The Friends of Wixom Library
The Rzeznik Family
Total Sports
Two Men & A Truck
Volare Ristorante
Wixom Community Foundation
Wixom Liquor
Wixom Public Library
Wixom Station

Watch this video for a sense of what you will experience at the Forbidden Art Exhibit: March 20 – April 6, 2017 in the Wixom Library.

Forbidden Art Exhibit, March 20 – April 6, 2017

The City of Wixom is proud to announce that they will host the traveling exhibition entitled Forbidden Art, a collection of images of artwork created by concentration camp prisoners while imprisoned by the Nazis during World War II. The exhibition originated at Poland’s Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum (A-B Museum) and is made up of twenty large color photos of drawings and sculptures made by inmates of the Auschwitz, Buchenwald, and Ravensbrüeck concentration camps. Each of the photographs is accompanied by a historical commentary and a narrative account as to why the piece was created. The original objects are permanently housed at the A-B Museum and are far too delicate for public display.

The mere act of producing these works was highly dangerous: Creating art was illegal in the Nazi concentration camps. “The uniqueness of all people was precisely the thing that the former camp administration sought to destroy,” states JJ Przewozniak, Curator of Collections for The Polish Mission of the Orchard Lake Schools. “The inmates were acknowledged by a number, not a name: their clothes were exchanged for uniforms; their hair was removed. Every aspect of life in the camp sought to remove one’s own identity. This artwork defies all of that. It’s truly a testament to the human spirit.”

Forbidden Art will be installed at the Wixom Public Library from March 20 through April 6, 2017. The exhibit is made possible by the Wixom Downtown Development Authority, the Wixom Community Foundation, and local sponsors. The exhibit was developed and is presented in North America by The Polish Mission of the Orchard Lake Schools in exclusive partnership with the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum. It has been displayed at prominent institutions such as the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, West Point, the Hoover Museum, and UCLA. The City of Wixom exhibit is funded in part through a grant provided by the Michigan Council for Arts & Cultural Affairs and the Anton Art Center.

Forbidden Art Reception
When: Sunday, March 19
Time: 5:00pm – 9:00pm
Where: Community Center
Cost: $20 through April 30
$25 March 1 and after

Please join us for an opening reception to welcome this extraordinary exhibit. This evening’s almost-black-tie reception is sponsored by the Wixom Downtown Development Authority, the Wixom Community Foundation, and local Wixom businesses. We will be honored by the presence of a speaker from Poland’s famed Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum who will provide intimate details of this moving artwork. The reception includes refreshments and hors d’oeuvres, music, and exhibit viewing. To purchase tickets, please see the City website’s Activities & Events Registration Page or call 248-624-2850.

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