On Friday, May 1, art6 gallery will host the opening of Defiant Silence, Never Forget!, contemporary reactions to the Holocaust through art. Curated by art6 member David Turner, Defiant Silence, Never Forget! will bring together artists of all genres from Virginia and around the world, including works by Joe Riley and Istvan Horkay from Hungary.

Curator’s statement: Sixty-three years ago the Auschwitz death camp was liberated and the full horror of the Holocaust was revealed. Sixty-four years later the Holocaust fades from horror to history to myth. For our children born to the relative quiet of a world absent lethal antisemitism the Holocaust has become an event relegated to the Jewish calendar alongside Tisha b’Av, that reminder of the destruction of the temples in Jerusalem. art6 gallery’s Yom Hashoah, Richmond 2009 will bring to life through art a contemporary acknowledgement and recognition of this latest major tragedy in Jewry’s Diaspora experience, Shoah. Defiant Silence, Never Forget! is dedicated to the memory of our murdered six million and to our 13 million who survived this nearly successful effort to eradicate all Jewish existence from the world. But mostly it is meant to serve as a living memory for our children, and for theirs.

Also at art6, on Saturday, May 2, from 8:30 to 10 p.m., Slash Coleman will premiere his new Shoah period play Bonjour Israel. This event is free and open to the public.

On Saturday, May 9, in two performances from 6 to 7 p.m. and from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., Slash Coleman will perform his highly acclaimed “matzo ball” monologue. Admission is $15 ($10 for students), with proceeds to benefit art6 gallery and the Virginia Holocaust Museum.

The gallery exhibition runs through Sunday, May 24. For more information, contact art6gallery@gmail.com or visit art6.org. art6 is a member-run, non-profit art gallery dedicated to promoting and showcasing quality contemporary visual and performing arts, and offering opportunities for education.