North Texas Performing Arts proudly presents

Diversity in Artistry: Jewish American Heritage Month

at Neiman Marcus Welcome Center inside the Willow Bend Center of the Arts

The art will be on public display May 1-31.

Tova Gittel Levitan artwork collection of three landscape paintings
Tova Gittel Levitan artwork collection of flower paintings

North Texas Performing Arts Diversity in Artistry series continues with an exhibit honoring Jewish American Heritage Month. The exhibit features the work of Tova (Gittel) Levitan, the grandmother of one of our own NTPA families. Tova was a holocaust survivor who used art to reflect her hope for the future. Her art is on display at the Nieman Marcus Welcome Center, located inside the Willow Bend Center of the Arts at 6121 West Park Blvd, Suite B216, Plano, Texas 75093.

Tova Gittel Levitan artwork painting of grapes

About Tova (Gittel) Levitan

Tova was born in Poland in 1932. She was a holocaust survivor who lived through unimaginable horrors, but she never gave up hope.

When she was just 9 years old, Tova and her brother were forced to flee their home during the Nazi occupation. They spent more than a week alone, hiding in the woods and scavenging for food, until they found a safe haven with relatives.

Eventually, Tova and her family made it to Israel, where she began a new life. She married and had three children, but her husband died prematurely. Tova found solace in painting, and she began to create beautiful works of art that reflected her experiences and her hopes for the future.

In 2000, Tova was diagnosed with cancer. After a mastectomy, she painted over her x-ray footage with flowers. She said she wanted to create something beautiful from something so horrible.

In 2021 after fighting an ongoing illness, she passed away. Her family found more than 100 paintings in the storage unit, in addition to the ones she had displayed in her home. Her paintings are decorating her family member’s house walls. Tova was a beloved member of her family and will always be remembered with a smile. She was a survivor, an artist, and a woman who never gave up hope.

The Neiman Marcus Welcome Center inside Willow Bend Center of the Arts is available for artists exhibits and is an initiative of NTPA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.

North Texas Performing Arts is committed to acknowledging diversity and promoting equity and inclusion in all programs. The NTPA Governing Board of Directors, Management Boards, and NTPA Staff strive to create performing art spaces that are positive, safe and inclusive regardless of one’s race, creed, gender, religion, orientation, communication differences or abilities. We encourage our families and patrons to exhibit our “Ten Characters” taught at NTPA including integrity, leadership, respect, and more importantly, to love one another.