fat village - REDBROWARD

The leaders of Broward County government will review the growing scandal at the Young At Art (YAA) children’s museum in Davie. Over the last week, REDBROWARD exposed questionable videos involving YAA founder Mindy Shrago and topless women whacking Donald Trump pinatas and a risque “peep show” sponsored by the museum. Curated by Shrago’s son Zack Spechler, the peep show exhibit allowed children to view naked men and women involved in sex acts.

Yesterday, an email sent to YAA sponsors, officials and the media urged leaders to remove Shrago from her role as YAA executive director. The “Protect Young At Art” email was addressed to YAA Board Chairman David Di Pietro and other board members. “I would normally be inclined to pen this correspondence in my own name but after reading the recent article in Red Broward about how those who oppose you and Ms. Shrago’s husband, Mr. Spechler, for the protection of my family I will remain anonymous,” the email began. The author applauded Shrago’s original vision which started at a Plantation shopping center. “Unfortunately, while Ms. Shrago was a visionary in creating Young at Art, life cannot be all play. The time comes for one to mature and pay his or her debts. I have been following the saga of Young at Art since Ms. Wallman of the Sun- Sentinel broke the story a few years ago. I became keenly aware of the claims of Young at Art, specifically its claim of a need for restructuring of its debt payments because its potential donors were not inclined to donate to the government. In contrast, I find it notable that while there are concerns of donors not wanting to give to the government, the admission price is $14 for parents and children ($12 for County Residents). At that price it seems that Young at Art has prioritized its donors over the lower income families/taxpayers of Broward County who want to see the museum.”

“Outraged” by the videos, the author identifies one of the topless women in the Donald Trump videos. “I thought the topless woman looked familiar and I realized it was Ali Shrago-Spechler, daughter of Executive Director Mindy Shrago. I further learned that Ms. Shrago-Spechler has a permanent installation/exhibit at Young at Art. I also did a google search of Ali Shrago-Spechler , and discovered her odd, topless political videos on YouTube and her blog where there is a painting…of Ms.Shrago naked across the lap of her father, Jay Spechler.”

The email ends with a call for Di Pietro to remove Shrago. “If you and your Board are not puppets and are truly acting in the best interests of the Museum, then it is time for you and your board to ask for the resignation of Mindy Shrago. If you will not do it, I would hope that the County Commission would request this as a requirement of any loan modification. Ms. Shrago should be thanked for her vision in creating Young at Art but it is clear that she is ill-equipped to run a museum in a fiscally responsible manner free of nepotism and without the possibility of exposing children to amoral behavior.”

When contacted by REDBROWARD, Broward County Commissioner Lois Wexler said she plans on reviewing the YAA videos and the call for Shrago’s resignation with County Administrator Bertha Henry and County Attorney Joni Armstrong Coffey.

During the September 20th County Commission meeting, Commissioner Wexler wondered if YAA was “playing games” in negotiations with the County. Despite YAA failure to live up to its previous deals with the County, officials have been open to making the partnership with the museum continue. Wexler asked why the amended contract, which was due in July, had not been presented to the Commission. County Administrator Henry said YAA officials blamed the delay on board member vacations. Wexler noted that 19 board members had resigned following the scathing report from the County’s consultant; The report had singled out undisclosed payments to Zack and Ali Shrago Spechler as possible violations of YAA’s deal with the County.

“Is the ultimate goal to wait until I am out of office? Because that’s exactly–I thought that was–That has been the goal for the last year,” Wexler asked. “And if this is a game that is being played it’s time to call their bluff.”

Wexler concluded, “This is something that has been going on way, way, way too long.”

Indeed.

YAA Executive Director Mindy Shrago, right, is all smiles at “peep show”

In 2014, Young At Art, a Broward taxpayer supported children’s museum in Davie, hosted the “Naughty By Nature” peep show in Fort Lauderdale. The exhibit was part of Young At Art’s “Bedlam Lorenz Assembly,” which sought to expose Broward’s children to contemporary art. The “Naughty By Nature” exhibit was held at the 1310 Gallery in Fort Lauderdale. It featured naked men and women, a dog licking a TV screen while an x-rated movie played in the background, a “precum/postcum” elevator light show, something called “Enter The Honey Hole” and “Vagina Flowers.”

Zack Shrago Spechler, son of Young At Art executive director Mindy Shrago, described the show as an exploration of sexuality. “The idea that really intrigued me is how we can be so obsessed with our bodies, and the sexuality of others, but we can be in a room full of body parts and not even recognize them,” Spechler said. “So you can stand in this exhibit and see various body parts, but they are abstract. You’re like, ‘Wait, is that a leg?'” According to SouthFlorida.com, Zack Shrago Spechler “operates the art collective Bedlam Lorenz Assembly at the Young at Art Museum.”

Earlier this year, Zack Shrago Spechler was the main focus of a consultant’s review of Young At Art. According to the Sun-Sentinel, consultant Louise Stevens of ArtsMarket, “[F]indings were that Shrago’s 32-year-old son, Zach Spechler, is being paid by the museum to act as a curator, unbeknownst to county officials, who said it might violate the terms of their agreement. Last year, for example, he was paid $17,636. A group he formed solicits artists and decides what art gets displayed in the museum, Stevens said.”

(Last November, REDBROWARD revealed Stevens had been threatened during the Young At Art review process.)

Did Broward taxpayers pay for this “Naughty By Nature” peep show? Should a taxpayer-funded children’s museum expose kids to risque art exhibits? At sign at the exhibit said, [T]he sexual and grotesque reveal themselves in sculptural and installation-based works with a distorted focus on flesh, tissue, organs and everything in between.” Should children see “grotesque” art with a “distorted focus on flesh?

In a video tour of the exhibit on YouTube, children are dragged into the “precum/postcum” elevator which took guests to the “peep show.”

The “peep show” was described as an exploration of “[T]he human body in a direct, full frontal affront, phasing macroscopic representations of the figure into the exhibition’s intimate abstractions.” For us regular non-artistic types, this means topless women pleasuring themselves on video screens.”

Last week, REDBROWARD exposed Mindy Shrago’s attendance at a strange political puppet theater featuring topless women and Donald Trump pinatas. No wonder Shrago was all smiles, she’s apparently used to such oddball shows.

Now, as Shrago and YAA Chairman David Di Pietro seek a new deal with Broward County, our leaders should forget the consultants and the audit games. They should demand a full accounting of Young At Art’s finances to make sure taxpayer money is not funding someone’s political rallies or nude peep shows.