Museum Matters: January 2022
Happy New Year and welcome to the first Museum Matters of 2022.
The Jewish Museum of Maryland remains temporarily closed to the public to protect the health and safety of our guests, staff, and volunteers. We are closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation in Maryland and Baltimore City, and we will announce our reopening on our website as soon as we can.
Please explore the many ways you can engage with the Museum and our content online while we are closed to the public.
First, we have our new and original multimedia exhibit titled A Fence Around The Torah: Safety And Unsafety In Jewish Life, which explores concepts of safety and unsafety in Jewish communities and spaces. For more information and to view the exhibit online, click here.
Here are a few selections from the exhibit to get you started:
JMM Executive Director Sol Davis and Curator-In-Resident Liora Ostroff share their visions for the exhibit here.
Read two poems by Joy Ladin from the exhibit’s Queer Life section here.
“I mean…how do you define safety?” is a multimedia installation created by four artists who explore what safety means for Jews from Arab countries and their descendants. It includes paintings, audio excerpts from a play, recipe cards for Iraqi Jewish foods, and much more. Check it out here.
There are three videos to watch: Here is “Jewish Ritual As Rebellion,” a video animation, by Naomi Weintraub of the Rebellious Anarchist Young Jews collective (and Community Artist-In-Residence here at the JMM). Danielle Durchslag’s 2019 video collage “Dangerous Opinions” addresses gatekeeping around political discourse in Jewish communities. And Katz Tepper’s digital video “Roasted Cockroach For Scale” uses images from communication technology to discuss trauma, displacement, militarism, and disability.
And be sure to check out the press coverage of the exhibit here.
While the Museum buildings may be closed to the public, our online collections are open all year round, and it’s a great time to start exploring them. Thousands of documents, pictures, and artifacts are just a click away. Start your exploration of our database here.
Looking to do some art-making to brighten up your winter?
Join our Community Artist-In-Residence Naomi Weintaub for DIY Jewish Folk Art Workshops in February 2022! These FREE workshops are a part of our ongoing Expressions Of Us series.
The first workshop will focus on the Jewish folk art of papercuts. Discover the history of papercuts in Jewish culture across regions and times. Plus you’ll learn to make your own papercuts, referencing traditional Jewish folk art iconography and motifs.
February 2nd at 7:30 PM on Zoom
The second online interactive workshop will explore the history of textile art in Jewish culture. You’ll learn to make your own mini-tapestries using recycled fabrics and materials.
February 16th at 7:30 PM on Zoom.
Food Preservation Through The Seasons: Pickling And Fermenting
Thrive: Eco Learning Workshop
Pearlstone Center
5425 Mt. Gilead Rd.
Reisterstown, MD 21136
January 16, 2022
Learn the basics of preserving produce through the process of fermentation and pickling in this hands-on interactive workshop. Participants will explore the science, health benefits, and practicality of fermenting and pickling, will have the opportunity to taste some pickled and fermented foods, and will make jars of pickled veggies to take home. With Tomalita Peterson of Baltimore American Indian Center. Register here.
Dispersive Archives Vol. 2
Waller Gallery
2420 North Calvert Street
Baltimore, MD 21218
January 14 to February 14, 2022
Dispersive Archives Volume 2 builds on the thesis of Dispersive Archives Vol.1: creating your own archive. The artists work with the archive to tell their histories and stories about real and theorized experiences. Themes include enslaved liberation, the beauty industry, family, and popular culture. The exhibition conveys the expansive nature of archives and how it relates to multiple cultures within the Black Diaspora and the United States.