By Jenna Jarrah
Last week, Cleveland Charter High School students held an exhibit with the David Labkovski Project (DLP), a project-based educational program that documents Holocaust history through the art and life story of Russian-born Jewish artist, David Labkovski (1906-1991).
DLP, which was founded in 2016 by the artist’s great niece Leora Raikin, aims to teach students to think critically about history and the past, and find ways to use their creativity towards building a better future.
The exhibit in Reseda featured original works by 43 ninth grade honors history students, which was a culmination of a 10-day learning program about David Labkovski and his life as a Jewish artist during the Holocaust.
Jake Thomas, a senior at Cleveland High School and a DLP student ambassador who was responsible for bringing the program to his school said, “I believe learning history through art is far more impactful than nearly any other method. Labkovski’s work has not only allowed me to bear witness to the Holocaust, but also to learn more about myself and my perspectives.”
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Leah Jauregui, 14, a 9th grader, shares the art she created in the David Labkovski Project with her piece with chains representing suffocation and imprisonment at Cleveland Charter High School In Reseda on Thursday, February 12, 2026. History students learned about the Holocaust and antisemitism through Labkovski’s paintings and life. “I think it was a pretty traumatic time,” she said. “It relates to the ICE raids because people are being separated from their families.” (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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The 10-day educational program started with an introduction to Labkovski’s art, where students were taught to think critically about artistic elements and uses, and then were introduced to Labkovski’s life and story. Students then had the opportunity to create original work, reflecting Labkovski’s main themes of memory and resilience.
On exhibit day, which took place on February 12th, students featured their artwork, and participated in an art-share where they explained how their art relates to the history and themes that they learned.
“By studying David Labkovski’s life and art, we are reminded that we are all people, and we all struggle,” said Evelyn Machado, DLP student ambassador. “Learning about the Holocaust isn’t just about what happened in the past–it’s about empathy, responsibility, and making sure we do better in the future.”
The majority of Labkovski’s paintings are set in Vilna, and his work depicts the city before the devastation of World War II and the persecution of the Jewish community who lived there by the Gulag and Nazis. His artistic style combines impressionism with contemporary techniques. In 1958, Labkovski immigrated to Israel where his portfolio was finished.
Labkovski, who refused to sell any of his work, wished that his art would be shared with a broad audience to bear witness to the atrocities of the Holocaust and the hate that gave rise to antisemitism in Europe, and share his hope for a better future for humanity.
Resa Nikol, the education director of DLP said, “We work with students to document history through Labkovski’s art. Students think deeply and connect emotionally to his story — to remember what happened and continue to guard against antisemitism, and more broadly against hate.”
Labkovski’s work, considered to be narrative art, tells the story of his life and other Holocaust survivors before, during, and after World War II.
Mayah Lunceford, the honors world history teacher at the high school who often leans on art to teach history for her own classes said, “In our world today, empathy and critical thinking are the most important attributes for students to develop. DLP greatly supported my students in this endeavor as they learned from Labkovski’s life and art. Students need to understand that these events happen to real people.”
The organization’s traveling exhibit, Documenting History through Art, is the foundation for student learning, and educates students starting in eighth grade through the university level with programs in English, Spanish and Chinese.
Raikin noted, “Art is a universal language, and it is able to reach people in different ways. Project-based learning is one of the most impactful ways of learning, and learning through art is exceptionally powerful.”
