TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — CANDLES Holocaust Museum is preparing for a new exhibit featuring Eva Kor’s signature style — scarves.
CANDLES has become a cornerstone of Terre Haute culture throughout the years, and the newest addition to the museum aims to celebrate the life and color that Eva Kor brought to the community.
“We’re hoping to just kind of bring some fun and color into the museum. It’s obviously a dark story, but Eva was a bright light. Her story is very unique but powerful at the same time. It was healing and we wanted to bring more of her personality in this exhibit and hopefully, people can get a better understanding of Eva and how she lived her life and how she liked to dress,” explained Troy Fears, executive director of CANDLES Holocaust Museum.
The exhibit will include several of Kor’s scarves, a prominent outfit that was a staple in Kor’s signature look, and several photos of Kor wearing the displayed scarves and outfit.
“We were able to find this outfit that Eva wore. She always wore blue, blue was her favorite color. Eva obviously had a ton of scarves and so we came across these scarves, and we probably have 30-35 different scarves. And we’re trying to match up photos with the scarves and we kind of want to match the exhibit around that. To put the scarves up and the picture of her wearing it right below it,” said Fears.
While there are specific plans for a fundraising push on Giving Tuesday, Nov. 29, the museum is currently open to donations for the new exhibit. The goal is to raise enough money for a display case and other materials that will help complete the exhibit.
“Our Giving Tuesday campaign is focused around trying to raise money to get a display case for this outfit. It’s one of her iconic outfits. Our goal is to raise $3,000 dollars which would get us a nice display case and also the materials we would need to finish the display for the scarves,” Fears added.
Although the exhibit is still a work in progress, it was given a lot of support from members of the community and those who are familiar with CANDLES even outside of Terre Haute.
“We’ve had people who have donated pictures of her wearing a scarf, or even scarves she wore. We’ve had 500 people or so that have been on a trip with Eva. It really is a community-wide effort, that community being CANDLES trip alumni, they’re from all over the country. People don’t realize how big of an impact she made and how well-known she was,” Fears said.
As Kor has made a significant impact on not only the Terre Haute community but many others around the world, her yearly return to Poland was a prominent aspect of her efforts to educate and is still in the museum’s routine events. However, the last few trips have been canceled due to various circumstances including the pandemic and the current war in Ukraine.
“We are obviously keeping a close eye on all of that. We’ve not been in three years. First, 2020 and 2021, was because of COVID, and last year we had to cancel because of the war in Ukraine with the uncertainties that were happening. So this year, once again, we are planning on going but we have to make a decision by March first,” Fears explained.
Despite the situations that prevented the trips in the past few years, the museum still intends to plan the annual trips and to keep advocating for education. With many examples of antisemitism occurring across the country, CANDLES’ goal of education is still as significant today as it was throughout the museum’s history.
“Words matter, who says them matter. The rise in antisemitism has been overwhelming the last few years, and it keeps rising each and every year, and so we try to combat that with education, try to combat that hate speech with positive hopeful speech, and again, educate those who don’t realize the impact of the statements they’re making,” Fears said.
Folks can expect the new exhibit to open by early 2023.
“Hopefully the beginning of the new year, if not before,” Fears said.
For further information regarding the museum, the new exhibit, or to donate, visit CANDLES’ website, or their Giving Tuesday Facebook event page.
