Anna Cohn

Anna Rebecca Cohn (20 September 1950 – 24 March 2019[1]) was an American museum director and Judaic scholar. Her four-decade career[2] began in the curation of Judaica and centered on the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), where she served as a director.

Anna R. Cohn
Cohn in 1988
Born(1950-09-20)20 September 1950
Minneapolis, Minnesota, US
Died24 March 2019(2019-03-24) (aged 68)
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Alma materWilliams College
OccupationMuseum director, curator, Judaic scholar
OrganizationSmithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES)

Early life and education

Cohn was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1950, and spent part of her childhood in Israel and the Netherlands.[3]:143 She studied in Israel for a semester of high school on the Eisendrath International Exchange (EIE) program, followed by a year at Hebrew University of Jerusalem at Mount Scopus.[1] Cohn returned to the United States and continued her undergraduate studies at the University of Minnesota in history and Judaic studies. She then studied art history at Williams College, Massachusetts.[3]:143

Career

Cohn quickly rose to become a director at the B'nai B'rith Museum and the Jewish Museum in Washington D.C., at the time one of the world's largest museums of Judaica.[3]:143

In 1982, Mark E. Talisman of Project Judaica recruited Cohn to join the curatorial team preparing The Precious Legacy. Cohn travelled to the State Jewish Museum in Prague, Czechoslovakia, and helped select items for loan to the Smithsonian Institution for the travelling exhibition.[4] Cohn was chosen as the international tour's project director, and was involved in every aspect of the undertaking.[5] During the same period, Cohn was director of planning for the future US Holocaust Memorial Museum, which she believed "should strive for authenticity".[3]:140–141 She resigned from the position in January 1985, citing working problems with the oversight council. A turnover of development personnel followed as the council sought a new direction for the museum and its exhibitions.[3]:145

Cohn returned to the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), becoming a program director. Among her projects were the exhibits Crossroads of Continents: Cultures of Siberia and Alaska, September 11: Bearing Witness to History, and 381 Days: The Montgomery Bus Boycott Story.[6] In a 2000 New York Times interview, Cohn discussed bringing travelling exhibits of all kinds to Middle America, where art appreciation had grown but towns couldn't support permanent museums,[7] which had led her to develop the Museum on Main Street initiative.[6]

Later life and death

Cohn retired in 2014, citing health reasons.[6] She returned to Minneapolis, where she died in 2019.[8]

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References
  1. "Anna R. Cohn Obituary – Visitation & Funeral Information". Hodroff-Epstein Memorial Chapel. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  2. "Anna Cohn Obituary". The Washington Post. Washington D.C.: The Washington Post – via Legacy.com. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  3. Neuman, Eran (2016). Shoah Presence: Architectural Representations of the Holocaust. Routledge. pp. 140–145. ISBN 978-1317055242. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  4. Alaton, Salem (31 August 1985). "Awe-inspiring testament to an indomitable spirit". The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ontario: The Globe and Mail Inc – via ProQuest (subscription required) . p. E11. ProQuest 386301363.
  5. "The Diary". The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ontario: The Globe and Mail Inc – via ProQuest (subscription required) . 5 September 1985. p. B16. ProQuest 386267491.
  6. "Anna Cohn, SITES Director, Steps Down". Smithsonian Institution Archives. Washington, D.C. 3 February 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  7. Mandell, Jonathan (1 April 2000). "From Smithsonian, a Program For Exhibitions With Legs". The New York Times. p. H30. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  8. "Anna R. Cohn Obituary". Star Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Star Tribune Media Company LLC. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
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