Inspiration and Imagination

Skirball pioneer Marlene Louchheim honors the founding and looks forward to the future of the institution’s visionary mission.

Before the Skirball was a landmark institution along the Sepulveda Pass, it was just an idea—first of Uri Herscher and then of a growing group of supporters dedicated to celebrating Jewish culture and American democratic ideals. Each of these founders had imagination. They believed in the possibility of their dreams. Now, in honor of the Skirball’s twenty-fifth anniversary, founding trustee Marlene Louchheim shares how those dreams were realized and commits to inspiring a new generation of dreamers through innovative virtual programs celebrating the arts and technology.

Above, left to right: Moshe Safdie, Michal Safdie, Uri Herscher, Marlene Louchheim, and Jeanne Kaufman at the Hebrew Union College Board of Overseers Founders Dinner and Building Committee Meeting in November of 1985.

This story begins forty years ago when, as a member of the Hebrew Union College (HUC) Board of Overseers, I first heard Uri describe his vision of a Jewish cultural center in Los Angeles. Its focus was to be the appreciation of Jewish heritage and American democratic ideals, and the vital relationship between the two. My husband, Sandy, and I were greatly inspired by Uri’s vision, which spoke so directly to our own commitment to enhance education, art, and culture within and beyond the Los Angeles community. Uri brought together a small team to help raise funds for the project. I fondly remember Jeanne Kaufman, director of development for HUC at the time, who was a charming and unstoppable force for the cause. She and Uri were the dynamic duo! They arranged a series of small dinner parties, and one of the first was hosted by Sandy and me. It was a great success. Many of the guests that evening became the Skirball’s original founders. The next event at our home included the world-renowned violinist Isaac Stern as honored guest. I still recall Mr. Stern’s one condition: that he speak before the food and wine were served, so that his audience would be attentive. And we were! “I’m not here to play the violin tonight,” he said. “I’m here to tell you the story of why I’m proud to be a Jew and grateful to be an American, and why there should be a cultural center that tells that story.” By the end of that memorable evening, over $1 million had been raised. It helped to purchase the land on which the Skirball now stands. As the Skirball has grown by leaps and bounds over the years, so have new possibilities for the achievement of its mission. Last year, as Uri’s twenty-five-year tenure as founding president was drawing to a close, I asked if he could think of a dream for the Skirball that had yet to be realized. He replied that as a child the study of art was never available to him in school, and he wanted the Skirball to create an art program that would reach children who might otherwise be denied this lifeenhancing experience. This idea resonated with me deeply, as Sandy and I were always committed to the arts and children’s education, and new technologies would permit the Skirball to reach many thousands of children who might never be able to visit the Skirball campus. Many fruitful discussions with Uri led to a new Skirball virtual school program called the Art of Imagination, combining Sandy’s interest in technology with mine in art. Since it launched in January of 2021, the program has opened new windows and doors of possibility to a growing audience of children—as only art and imagination can. The vision of a Jewish cultural center that so inspired me forty years ago has truly blossomed in these first twenty-five years. I am honored to be a part of the Skirball’s past—and its future.

Left: Winner of the 2021 Superintendent’s Award for Excellence in Museum Education, Noah’s Ark at the Skirball: The Art of Imagination is a free series of virtual programs and digital resources inspired by flood stories from around the world. Since it launched, the Art of Imagination has encouraged more than 113,000 schoolchildren to see themselves as changemakers, artists, and leaders. Photo by WolfDog Creative.