Fleisher is thrilled to welcome Vita Litvak as our new manager of adult programs. Vita has joined the staff in a full-time capacity as of Monday, January 4.

Prior to joining Fleisher, Vita served as a visiting assistant professor of fine arts at Haverford College, where she graduated in 2002. In addition, she holds an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and has previously taught at Richard Stockton College, Germantown Friends School, and Moore College of Art and Design.

“I am so honored to be joining the amazing community of artists and art educators here at Fleisher Art Memorial. Fleisher’s mission to provide art education to everyone regardless of economic means and background, deeply resonates with my personal experience,” Vita says. “Coming from a low-income, immigrant background, I am keenly aware of the power of organizations that provide access to educational opportunities. As once I have benefited from such programs, I am now thrilled to serve the Fleisher community of students, educators and administrators united by a noble mission of accessible art education.”

As a working artist, Vita’s photographs have been featured in numerous exhibitions across the country and she has been the recipient of several travel grants and fellowships. Her art practice is rooted in the photographic medium, and extends into video and community based projects.

Her most recent exhibition focused on her homeland of Tiraspol, Transnistria – previously part of Moldova – where she lived with her family prior to immigrating to the United States in 1992.
Vita’s images of political monuments and apartment blocks from the Soviet era are contrasted against the verdant landscapes and clear skies of Tiraspol. People of various ages are captured in suspended time, waiting to be photographed at their wedding, waiting for the bus, or to reach their destination at the end of a long day. They serve as visual portals to make manifest the unfulfilled potential of a better life. Through her photographs, the depiction of Tiraspol and its surrounding suburbs is transformed into a metaphor for a region full of contradictions as Vita has experienced it.

In her current project, Pastorius Gardens, Vita is partnering with Germantown Mennonite Historic Trust, local artists, and community members to build a community garden and fruit orchard in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia.

Vita is excited to work with our dynamic faculty and meet our engaging students. In the meantime, she can be contacted at vlitvak@fleisher.org. More of her work can be seen at vitalitvak.com.

Vita’s work pictured in this post are from her 2014 exhibition at Haverford College, Я Подарю Тебе Мир (I Will Give You the World) and Other Promises from Transnistria. Pictured are The River Dniester, 2011 inkjet print, 40″ x 40″, above, and Lada, Mid 80s Model, Tiraspol, Transnistria, 2011, inkjet print, 20″ × 20″.