Lawrence High School Work Featured in Holocaust Memorial Art Exhibit

Lawrence High School art teacher Janet Lust Gaines currently has twenty works on display at the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center in Glen Cove. The art is displayed at an art show titled Lest We Forget: Stories of Hope, Resistance and Survival, Retold Through Art, from March 9th through June 22nd. The show also features a collection of her students’ artwork from 2001 to the present.

Ms. Ganes embarked on her artistic journey by sharing her family’s Holocaust story through various mediums, including paintings, drawings, mixed media collages, prints, and sculptures, all inspired by her mother’s experience of survival. As a child of survivors, Ganes developed a deep passion for Holocaust education, which she pursued throughout her 25-year career as an art teacher at Lawrence High School.

From 2001 to 2004, several of her students volunteered to participate in Adopt-A-Survivor, an initiative held at the Irving Roth Holocaust Center. Engaging with survivors in personal conversations, the students were deeply inspired to create artwork that reflected the individual stories of survival they learned about. In addition, Ms. Ganes organized speaker events at Lawrence High School and coordinated field trips to the Museum of Jewish Heritage and various Holocaust Centers across Long Island, further enriching her students' understanding and connection to this important history.

This year, Ms. Ganes revived the Adopt-A-Survivor program for her students. In December, a diverse group of students, including members of the Hebrew Culture Club, Art, Global History, and Creative Writing classes, as well as several cast members from last year’s production of The Diary of Anne Frank, participated in a special trip to the Irving Roth Holocaust Center. There, they listened to a powerful firsthand account from Holocaust survivor Rosalie Simon. Inspired by Rosalie’s testimony, three Lawrence High School seniors created original works of art in response to the experience, while others composed poems and reflections.

“By showing my artwork alongside the student projects, I strive to demonstrate the connection between my artistic practice and my teaching practice,” said Janet Gaines. “Since there are fewer survivors alive today, giving my students an opportunity to meet with them directly feels more urgent; they are the last generation who will be able to hear live testimony.”

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