This program, presented in partnership with Bader Philanthropies, is part of A Tribute to Helen Daniels Bader: Belonging and Becoming—a day-long exploration of identity, belonging, and community.
Join us for a special Lunch & Learn featuring artist Jac Lahav, whose 48 Jews: Layers of Identity series explores the complexity of identity through portraiture. Drawing from figures across time and culture, Lahav’s work invites us to consider how identity is shaped by history, memory, and lived experience.
Lahav’s reflections are deeply personal. As a caregiver for his mother living with Alzheimer’s and as a foster parent to children in need, he brings a lived understanding of how identity is experienced, challenged, and redefined over time. His work and his life both speak to the idea that identity is not fixed, but layered — shaped by care, resilience, and the relationships that sustain us.
Held on the birthday of Helen Daniels Bader, and during Mental Health Awareness Month and Jewish American Heritage Month, this program reflects a shared commitment to dignity, compassion, and the recognition that every identity is complex, evolving, and worthy of being seen.
A kosher lunch buffet will be provided, including a garden salad, fruit platter, roasted vegetables, rice-stuffed peppers, herb-roasted chicken, and assorted desserts. All items are vegetarian-friendly except the herb-roasted chicken.
Event Information
DATE: Wednesday, May 20, 2026
TIME: 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Jewish Museum Milwaukee
COST: FREE
About the Presenter
Born in Jerusalem Israel in 1977, Jac Lahav is among an influential cadre of contemporary American artists whose work employs a wide range of media to explore themes of art history, individual and shared cultural identities, personal narratives, literature, psychology, materiality, and familial structures.
Lahav received a BA in Psychology from Wesleyan University CT and studied for his masters at Brooklyn College NY. Lahav’s practice quickly expanded to embrace a wide range of media including sculpture, painting, drawing, and installation, yielding a complex multidisciplinary practice that incorporates diverse materials rich with symbolism and personal history.
Lahav’s work is known for its narrative embedding of a pointed range of everyday materials and objects, often associated with his childhood and frequently referencing aspects of history and cultural identity. Many of Lahav’s more recent works delve into existential themes such as meditations on personal and collective anxiety, immigrant assimilation, non-linear family frameworks, and the painted surface.
Jewish Museum Milwaukee extends heartfelt gratitude to Bader Philanthropies for their continued support of programs that honor the dignity and complexity of human identity. This celebration is dedicated to Helen Daniels Bader, whose compassion, artistic spirit, and commitment to mental health advocacy laid the foundation for a more inclusive Milwaukee. Her legacy lives in every story shared, every voice uplifted, and every moment of connection created in our community. We are honored to carry her vision forward.