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Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary Sponsors 4th Biennial International Exhibition of New Funerary Art

LOS ANGELES & GRATON, Calif.-(Business Wire)-September 3, 2008 - Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary, the most prestigious Jewish cemetery and mortuary in Southern California, announced its premier sponsorship of the Ashes to Art^® | scattered 4^th international exhibition of funerary art presented by FUNERIA^®. The sponsorship underscores Hillside’s commitment to supporting art- and design-conscious families, as well as the funerary arts genre – a commitment which resonates with the mission of the Ashes to Art exhibition, scheduled to take place in Sonoma County Sept. 27 through Nov. 30.

“Increasingly, we’re seeing individuals and families making end of life plans who want to be mindful of land use, the shrinking resources of our planet and their carbon footprint, and cremation is an option that not only makes sense for them but provides opportunity for personal expression,” said Mark A. Friedman, Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary’s CEO. “At Hillside, we think it’s increasingly important to support the artistic creation of cremation urns that embody meaningful expression and provide comfort to families – and FUNERIA’s Ashes to Art exhibition is the perfect venue for this.”

Ashes to Art | scattered is a juried competition and exhibition that invites artists working in all sculptural media to create innovative functional funerary artworks, including biodegradable containers and vessels, that help family and friends fulfill loved ones’ requests to scatter ashes, and new rituals that expand on early and modern attitudes toward life and the afterlife. The artists work in the broadest range of materials, including clay, metal, glass, fiber, wood, stone and mixed media to create keepsakes and containers for both cremated remains and mementos of a well-lived life. Jurors select the most original and finely crafted artworks for cash awards and special recognition.

“More so now than at any other time in history, people around the world are choosing cremation over traditional burial, even among those raised in a religious practice where cremation has not been the norm,” explained Maureen Lomasney, president and founder of FUNERIA, LLC. “Ashes to Art exhibitions offer a remarkably diverse range of objects to contain the ashes of loved ones, thanks to artists who are redefining the role and aesthetics of what cremation urns can achieve in honoring a unique life. We’re delighted to have Hillside Memorial Park & Mortuary as the premier sponsor of the exhibition – a fitting partnership between a precedent-setting contemporary art exhibition and a mortuary that has long been known for providing thoughtful options for its community.”

The Ashes to Art | scattered 4^th international exhibition of funerary art presented by FUNERIA and sponsored by Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary will run Sept. 27 through Nov. 30 at Art Honors Life – The Gallery at FUNERIA in Graton, Sonoma County. In the Southern California area, FUNERIA’s exclusive portfolio of urns, vessels and reliquaries are available through Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary. To learn more, please visit www.HillsideMemorial.org and www.funeria.com.

About Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary

Founded in 1942, Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary has served as a place of memories for the Los Angeles Jewish community for more than 60 years, committed to providing families with caring and sensitivity. Surrounded by beautiful gardens and lawns, fountains, stunning architecture, artwork and more, its exquisite grounds provide a dramatic yet serene backdrop to memorials and tributes. Vast and serene and quietly famous, Hillside offers families pre-need planning for their loved ones, and expert assistance for all necessary arrangements, including ground spaces, garden estates, mausoleums, wall crypts, family rooms, cemetery services and floral, mortuary/funeral services. A community service of Temple Israel of Hollywood, Hillside is well-versed in Jewish mourning customs and traditions, and also offers community education in the form of activities and events. To learn more about Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary, visit www.HillsideMemorial.org or call 800-576-1994.

About FUNERIA, LLC.

FUNERIA is a unique arts agency and exhibitions organizer that promotes and sells original contemporary artist-made urns, vessels, reliquaries and personal memorial artworks through retail and wholesale channels worldwide. FUNERIA has been identified as leading the emerging funerary arts movement since presenting its first Ashes to Art exhibition at San Francisco’s historic Fort Mason Center in 2001. In 2007, FUNERIA opened “the nation’s first art gallery dedicated to cremation urns and personal memorial art” in the town of Graton, California (“In Life as in Death, a Personalized Space,” Patricia Leigh Brown, The New York Times, Jan. 2008). To learn more about FUNERIA, please visit www.funeria.com or call 707-829-1966.