Larger-than-life portraits of Holocaust survivors, including 12 who call St. Louis home, will be on display as part of a public art installation on the Washington University campus.
“Lest We Forget” is a series of photographs by Italian-German photographer Luigi Toscano, who wanted to preserve the stories of Holocaust survivors. Since 2014, he has taken portraits of more than 400 survivors from all over the world – Belarus, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Russia, Ukraine and the United States.
Toscano’s work has been shown internationally. He is the recipient of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, that nation’s highest honor, and has been named a goodwill ambassador by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Last spring, Toscano traveled to St. Louis to photograph 12 survivors. The resulting portraits, which measure approximately 5 feet wide and 7 feet high, are a raw, honest reflection of each subject and will be among those featured in the exhibit.
“Lest We Forget” opens Thursday, Oct. 20, and runs through Sunday, Nov. 6. The portraits will be on view in Ann and Andrew Tisch Park on the eastern end of the university’s Danforth campus, adjacent to the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum.
Tomorrow evening, the Kemper Museum will host an opening ceremony at 5 p.m. in Steinberg Hall Auditorium featuring Toscano and survivor Rachel Miller of St. Louis, whose portrait is among those on display. A reception will follow at Kemper Museum. For more information, visit the museum’s website.
In addition, the Midwest Regional Office of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum will host a conversation between Toscano and survivor Rita Rubinstein at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, also in Steinberg Hall. For more information or to RSVP, visit ushmm.org.
