esther netter.

Time is running out for Esther Netter. On June 6, the Zimmer Children\’s Museum will unveil its most ambitious art exhibit in its 14-year history to an expected sellout crowd of 300. As if that wasn\’t enough, the Zimmer\’s executive director must simultaneously ready her organization for independence from the Jewish Community Centers of Greater Los Angeles (JCCGLA), an outfit that for years has provided important services to Zimmer at heavily discounted rates.

Seated in a conference room with two Zimmer executives, Netter gave a progress report on the last-minute preparations for \”Show & Tel: Art of Connection,\” which will feature 179 telephones transformed into artworks by the likes of musician Alicia Keys, actress Elizabeth Taylor and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The funky phones, up for auction, will benefit youTHink, an art-based social issues program for third- to-12th-graders (see sidebar below).