Exhibit and lectures spotlight synagogues in Germany

CONTACT: B.J.
Almond
PHONE: (713) 348-6770
EMAIL: balmond@rice.edu

EXHIBIT AND
LECTURES SPOTLIGHT SYNAGOGUES IN GERMANY
German architect Alfred Jacoby
will speak at Rice University and the Margolis Gallery

Synagogues in Germany
that were designed by the son of Polish Holocaust survivors will be featured in
a free photo exhibit this fall at the Margolis Gallery. The German architect
Alfred Jacoby will present two public lectures about his work in September — one
at Margolis Gallery and one at Rice University.

The photo exhibit,
titled “In a New Spirit: Synagogues of Germany,” is on loan from the Mizel
Museum of Judaica. It presents the historical contexts of the new synagogues,
pointing out significant sites of World War II on which Jacoby has built,
including a place once occupied by a local Gestapo headquarters and several
sites that are former grounds of synagogues destroyed during the Nazi
era.

The building of
synagogues in Germany has traditionally been an expression of emancipation for
Jewish communities. Jacoby, considered to be Germany’s leading designer of
synagogues, said he is building them “for Jews who are establishing new
communities in Germany.” The government of the Federal Republic of Germany is
subsidizing a large proportion of the new synagogues.

Jacoby’s parents settled
in Germany after surviving the Polish Holocaust after World War II. He studied
in Cambridge and Zurich and then opened his own firm in Frankfurt. The recipient
of the “Architects Under 40” prize at the 1984 German Building Exhibition,
Jacoby has exhibited his work at the German Architecture Museum and at the
Venice Biennale. He has been a professor at the Bauhaus in Dessau since 1998.

The traveling photo
exhibit, which has been shown in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Boston and
Miami, showcases Jacoby’s exceptional designs of elegance and spirituality. Its
Houston debut is being presented by Margolis Gallery, Rice University School of
Architecture, The Goethe Center for Central European Studies at Rice and the
Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The exhibit will be on
display from Sept. 6 through Nov. 30 at Margolis Gallery at Congregation Beth
Israel, 5600 Braeswood Blvd. The gallery is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday
through Thursday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9:30 p.m. Friday; and 9 a.m. to
noon Sunday.

Jacoby will discuss the
architecture of the synagogues at 7 p.m. Sept. 5 at Farish Gallery in Anderson
Hall at Rice University, 6100 Main St. For directions to Rice, call (713)
348-5864.

An opening reception for
the exhibit will be held at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 6 at Margolis Gallery, followed by a
7:30 p.m. lecture by Jacoby. For more information call (713) 771-6221 or http://www.beth-israel.org/committee/arts.asp.