To all JAI Members:I know these are very trying times for everyone in JAI -- keeping oneself, friends and family healthy is the most important thing we can do. The isolation is also very difficult. Please keep in touch via email or other online messaging. It's also a good time to get a lot of time in the studio. Most of all stay safe and healthy and we will all get together for those postponed shows and events when the COVID-19 crisis is over.
Stay well !! Ruth Weisberg
Dear Friends,
The Jewish Artists Initiative has taken the opportunity to redesign and modernize the JAI website: jaisocal.org and its newsletter.
The website is our most public mode of communication as well as the key way that we communicate with our membership so it really defines our identity and sense of purpose. At the request of the JAI Executive Board's website redesign subcommittee, the very dedicated Melinda Smith Altshuler and Randi Matushevitz working with our very gifted and innovative webmaster and designer, Chris Garland we have arrived at a solution which is innovative and builds on our previous history.
It is a very purpose driven site, providing a strong first impression for JAI, as well as quick access to additional information. I think it is an efficient solution that also benefits from incorporating existing communications such as displaying the current and previous newsletters. I will let our terrific webmaster Chris Garland explain:
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“At the request of the Executive Board’s website redesign sub-committee — thank you Melinda Smith Altshuler and Randi Matushevitz — we've given the JAI website a fresh clean look.
On the home page is an image slider displaying three top announcements: an upcoming special event, an ongoing reference to JAI’s participation in the 2019 Jerusalem Biennale and the current JAI Featured Artist. Links are provided in each for more information. The home page continues down with top level information about the organization providing visitors with a quick and comprehensive overview.
A double set of navigation links are at the top of the page. Under the logo are website page links with additional links in the very top right corner connecting to JAI's Facebook page, a link to subscribe to the newsletter and an email link: Contact Us. In the future an additional link will be added for paying member dues online (the system is already in place).
Timeline: 2004 > Present currently displays 12 key events in the history of JAI.
Exhibitions & Current Events displays the current newsletter. This is an efficient repurposing of what is really JAI’s most widely read communique.
Member Directories: Arts Professionals listings are essentially the same as before, but the Artists Directory is totally redesigned.
The new site does not have portfolio pages like the old site. The old site was created in 2005 when many artists didn’t have personal websites so the JAI site was designed to accommodate them. All members now have online information about themselves so the new concept is an alphabetical listing of all 123 artist members with a strong featured image representing their work, tags referencing the media in which they work, and a link to their personal website or other online resource for more information. Scrolling through the directory displays an impressive array of talent. JAI can be very proud.
btw – Any artist who would like to update their featured image and media tags, please contact me.
Recent Archive displays a listing provided by Mailchimp, the online newsletter service JAI works with, that includes links to the 20 most recent newsletters.
Apply for Membership displays downloadable and printable PDFs describing the criteria for membership and instructions for submitting work and one's bio for consideration.”
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So we are grateful to Chris Garland for his redesign and invite you to explore the new website: click here.
All best wishes,
RUTH WEISBERG, PRESIDENT JEWISH ARTISTS INITIATIVE of SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Congratulations to Susie Gesundheit
JAI's Featured Artist of the Month / March
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