December 2024 – January 2025
Canoga Park Youth Arts Center, Canoga Park, CA
Students from the Multicultural Learning Center (MLC) presented Documenting History through Art: The Art & Life of David Labkovski, a student-led exhibit created through the David Labkovski Project’s (DLP) in-classroom Holocaust education program. Hosted at the Canoga Park Youth Arts Center, the exhibit brought together art, history, reflection, and student leadership in a powerful public presentation.
The exhibit was the culmination of DLP’s multidisciplinary, semester-long educational program, where eighth grade students engaged with the artwork and history of Holocaust survivor and artist David Labkovski. Through project-based learning, students explored themes of tolerance, resilience, inclusion, and equality while developing their own artistic and written responses to history.
Guided by their research and reflections, students served as docents for the exhibit, leading visitors through Labkovski’s narrative artwork and sharing original poetry, artwork, and written reflections in both English and Spanish. The exhibit invited visitors not only to learn about Holocaust history, but also to consider how creativity and education can foster empathy and understanding in the present day.
The collaboration between the Multicultural Learning Center, the Canoga Park Youth Arts Center, the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, and the David Labkovski Project created an opportunity for students to engage deeply with history through art and storytelling. Through more than 20 hours of instruction, students learned to critically interpret Labkovski’s work while connecting historical events to contemporary conversations about antisemitism, hate, and human rights.
Opening day of the exhibit welcomed more than 120 attendees, including educators, community leaders, and public officials. Los Angeles City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield presented resolution certificates to 51 eighth grade students in recognition of their completion of the DLP program and their work as peer-to-peer educators and docents. LAUSD Board President Scott Schmerelson also attended the exhibit in support of DLP’s mission and educational impact.
A central component of the program encouraged students to create original responses to Labkovski’s artwork through poetry, music, and visual art. Students reflected on individual pieces from Labkovski’s collection, forming personal connections to the history and experiences represented in the artwork. Student-created pieces were incorporated into the exhibit and selected works were published through DLP materials and programming.
Several students were recognized for their leadership and contributions throughout the program. Brianna Lares and Angelina Aguilar were appointed as DLP Ambassadors and committed to continuing as docents for future exhibits and educational events. Other students contributed translations of exhibit materials into Spanish and English, helping make the exhibit accessible to broader audiences.
David Labkovski’s body of work, consisting of more than 400 narrative artworks, documents Jewish life before, during, and after the Holocaust, as well as his imprisonment in Siberia and later years in Israel. Through DLP’s educational model, students engage directly with these works to better understand history and the importance of preserving memory through storytelling and art.
DLP extends its gratitude to the students, educators, community partners, and supporters who helped make Documenting History through Art possible, including DLP Director of Education Resa Nikol for her dedication to mentoring and guiding students throughout the program.
Los Angeles Councilmember, Bob Blumenfield
