In partnership with the Airport Foundation MSP and the Metropolitan Airports Commission, Transfer of Memory will be on display at both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 at MSP Airport.
The exhibition is located near gate C18 in the film screening room – cleverly called “See 18” – at Terminal 1, and at the Arts@MSP Gallery, across from gate H3 at Terminal 2. Since exhibits at both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 are located post-security, those planning to see the exhibits will need a boarding pass to get through security.
David Sherman, the photographer of the exhibit, said getting to put the show on at the airport is a really big deal.
“Its been at public places, its been at universities, and it has had a really big impact in small communities, but never had this wide an audience,” Sherman said. “That’s the piece that’s exciting. The exposure will be great. I don’t know what the number is but the hundreds of thousands that walk by. It’s all a little daunting.”
That Minneapolis is hosting the Super Bowl on Feb. 4 will only increase the number of travelers coming through MSP.
“It’s by luck,” Sherman said of the timing. “We had no idea this would even be a possibility. I make my living in the sports industry and the whole idea that in the midst of the sports orgy, here’s this reminder that there are really important things in life – it’s bigger than the Super Bowl. Not Transfer of Memory, but the issue of the survivors and the Holocaust, and continued bullying and hatred because people are different.”
Each Holocaust survivor in Transfer of Memory shares a story of survival during exceedingly difficult circumstances, yet as a collection, these images focus on life and hope. From Europe to Minnesota, it was here they fashioned their dreams, their futures, and their families – their lives are a constant reminder of the value of freedom and the enduring human spirit. Sherman and writer Lili Chester, in partnership with the JCRC, created this exhibition.
“We’ve been working for some time to bring the exhibit to MSP Airport and we’re pleased to have the opportunity to host it for the traveling public,” said Robyne Robinson, Arts@MSP Director for Airport Foundation MSP. “This is a deeply moving and powerful exhibit that links Minnesota to an important chapter in world history.”
The exhibition features 44 portraits of survivors living – or who lived – in Minnesota. The color images depict the survivors as living full and fulfilled lives – full of life and vitality – not defined by victimhood. Each survivor was photographed in their home and everyone was interviewed and videotaped prior to making their portrait. Chester’s text, distilled from the survivor interviews, accompanies each portrait and provides background and a short history in the survivors’ own words. The exhibit space in Terminal 1 features six 60-inch televisions screens that make one large screen which will play the video testimonials of the survivors.
“We have people who survived death camps, escaped with their families to Shanghai, hid in the Greek Mountains, hid in the open, were hidden in monasteries in France,” Sherman said. “All of those are ways people survived the Shoah. We’re lucky to have been able to photograph them, interview them, and tell their stories.”
The exhibit will be on display at MSP Airport through February 5, 2018. For more information about the exhibition, please visit www.transferofmemory.org. Follow Transfer of Memory on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
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