Nancy Kotz isn’t afraid to get up in front of a crowd and speak.
That’s what the Kensington art historian does on a regular basis with Jewish Art Education. Kotz has presented on the topic 14-18 times a month to senior living communities, houses of worship, community centers and other organizations since 2015 with the goal of bringing awareness of Jewish visual arts to the wider world.
She is the executive director and speakers bureau manager for the Maryland nonprofit.
“After she got her doctorate, [Jewish Art Education founder Myrna Teck] began developing all of this content that looks at Jewish art from an art historical point of view,” Kotz said. “And so, of course, with my art history background, that really rang true for me and really intrigued me.”
Jewish Art Education’s programs fall under three categories: Jewish holidays, particular Jewish artists or groups of artists, and thematic programs. Kotz said she looks forward to examining Hollywood’s influence on America’s entry into World War II through an upcoming thematic program called “Cinema Judaica.”
“It focuses specifically on Jewish Hollywood, both on screen and behind the scenes,” Kotz said. “It just is a lot of fun — everything from Three Stooges shorts to Charlie Chaplin to ‘Gentleman’s Agreement,’ all of those movies that contributed to informing the public in a fictional way, most of the time, about what was going on in Europe.”
Another thematic program, “Gilded Lions and Jeweled Horses,” explores Eastern European artisans who created synagogue decorations, matzevot — tombstone carvings, and paper-cut images. The second part of the program looks at how those artisans translated those skills upon arrival in the United States, where they found work in the carousel animal trade.
“I love interacting with the audiences and teaching people who may not necessarily have a great knowledge about art, teaching them about art from a Jewish perspective,” Kotz said.
When she studied art history, the subject was largely taught from a nationalistic standpoint, according to Kotz.
“You learned every art,” she said. “You learned about French art, you learned about Italian art in the various periods, pre-Columbian art, those designations, but this is a … different approach to learning about art — looking at it through a cultural perspective.”
She acknowledged that Judaism is both a culture and a religion.
“So it’s fun to orient people to expression that they may not have thought about,” Kotz said. “For example, our holiday programs. When you think about the art of Chanukah, you may think about Chanukah lamps [or] menorahs … but you may not think of the two-dimensional works or sculptural works that relate to the holiday.”
Kotz has long been interested in the arts. She majored in art history and business at Skidmore College for undergraduate and planned to pursue graduate school in arts administration.
But a summer internship at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond changed her mind: “After working at the museum, I decided I didn’t want to go back to school.”
Kotz used resources at her local library to land her next internships, first at the National Endowment for the Arts, then at the Congressional Arts Caucus as an intern and later, staff assistant, simultaneously volunteering at the National Gallery of Art’s information desk.
“After a while, I missed the museum environment, so I started applying for anything I could find at the Smithsonian that might fit my qualifications,” Kotz said, adding that she spent the next six and a half years as head of the tour scheduling office at the National Air and Space Museum.
Then, she worked a stint for the National Council on the Arts before joining NGA’s retail division for five years.
A new mother at the time, Kotz knew this work schedule wasn’t conducive to raising a young child. She searched for work closer to home.
It was through the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Washington — of which Kotz is currently a board member — in fall 2014 where she met Myrna Teck, the founder of Jewish Art Education, and began presenting programs as a side gig. The rest is (art) history.
Kotz incorporates the vast knowledge she’s gained through her local museum roles into her speaker position.
During a series on Jewish artist Marc Chagall’s biblical etchings at a Kensington senior living facility, Kotz discussed where audience members could see his works in person.
“I said, ‘Well, of course, the sculpture garden at the National Gallery is a really easy place to see a Chagall because there’s a Chagall mosaic there given to the museum by local collectors,’” she said.
Off the top of her head, Kotz knows that Chagall’s Orphée was originally owned by an art collector couple who lived in Georgetown.
“Some of my favorite audience comments are from people, Jewish and non-Jewish, who tell me that I have introduced them to artists they were not familiar with and made them curious to learn more,” Kotz said. “I am especially pleased when an audience member tells me that they … learned something new about Judaism through the art that I have shared with them.”
