In this edition of his Search for Meaning podcast, Stephen Wise Temple Senior Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback hosts artist and educator Suzanne Horwich.
Horwich, who hails from Rabbi Yoshi's hometown of Omaha, is the founder of Artists Giving Back, a program she started to bolster the spirits of Ukrainian refugees who have fled their warn-torn country for Poland.
Horwich has long been drawn to the Syrian refugee crisis, but felt helpless as the world turned a blind eye to the horrors wrought by the Assad regime. When Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, she resolved to take action. She eventually connected with Jonathan Ornstein, a friend of Wise and the head of the Krakow Jewish Community Center, which has pivoted from rebuilding the shattered Polish Jewish community to providing food, aid, medical supplies, and housing to those fleeing Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces.
The former Director of Curatorial Affairs for the Aspen (Colo.) JCC, she pitched the idea of using her expertise as an artist to address the psychological trauma experienced by those driven from their homes. A month after they were first introduced, Horwich was on the ground with Ornstein in Poland.
By providing collaborative art therapy to those in need—particularly women, children, and the elderly—Artists Giving Back encourages refugees to get lost in their art, using their imagination and creativity to find healing and community.
The project is funded by generous support from the Staenberg Family Foundation, the Goldrich Family Foundation, Tom and Darlynn Fellman, and Horwich herself. She hopes to fundraise more to grow and expand the program.