Jewish Marylanders:
We want to represent your story
Overview
The Jewish Museum of Maryland is launching a project that invites all who identify as Jewish and have a relationship with Maryland to have their historical and contemporary family photos presented publicly in the Museum’s new core exhibition.
The project is part of a larger effort to give everyone within Maryland’s Jewish communities the opportunity to see their family represented by actively inviting participation across the full spectrum and diversity of Jewish Marylanders.
The final exhibit will be a two-part display, with an ongoing presentation of the submitted photographs and an interactive terminal where visitors can search for names or keywords and explore the entries at their own speed. We will continue gathering photos and stories after the exhibit opens to continually update and expand this collection over time.
Participation
We are asking for Jewish Marylanders to submit three photos:
- a photo from early in your family’s history
- a current photo
- one that falls chronologically in between
We will request some basic details about the photos (names, dates, etc.) as well as information about how these photos tie into your Jewish experience and your family’s history in Maryland. Not all photos need to be set in Maryland, but we ask that submissions have a clear tie to your Maryland story. So long as you identify as a Jewish Marylander, we want to represent your story at the JMM.
Submissions can be provided at any time online, and we plan to schedule events where we will help participants scan their photos and upload their stories.
Exhibit Period: Picturing Past + Present will be on display as one of our core exhibits when the Jewish Museum of Maryland reopens to the public.
Technical Specifications: Photos must be submitted in JPG or PNG format.
Events
Are you interested in bringing a story-gathering event to your community? We plan to arrange submission sessions where JMM can provide scanners, computers, and technical assistance. Interested submitters will be able to schedule a timeslot to have a JMM staff member or volunteer help them digitize their photos and upload their submission. We recommend (but do not require) participants review the question prompts and draft their stories ahead of time. To schedule an event in your community, reach out to us at info@jewishmuseummd.org
Frequently Asked Questions
Each of your three submissions should be a single photo. We will be asking for details about each photo you share, and it would be difficult to provide those details for a photo collage.
Additionally, the final product will show the photos in two formats: as part of a large video presentation, and on a smaller, searchable terminal where you can read more about each submission. A photo collage might be more difficult to view at that smaller size.
No; we can only accept three photos. We are working to compile an exhibit that represents the full breadth of the Maryland Jewish experience and hope to have many submissions, so allowing extra photos could quickly become unmanageable!
Picturing Past & Present will be on display upon the museum’s reopening in February 2025, so if we receive your
submission in advance of our reopening, it will be available for viewing when the exhibit premieres. This will be one of the museum’s new core exhibits, so it will remain up for several years.
We plan to keep accepting submissions and updating the display periodically, but the schedule for updates after the exhibit opens has not yet been determined. If you submit in February 2025 or later and want to know when it will be added, please email us at that time for current information.
No; you will keep your physical photos. We are seeking scans (or straight-on, well-lit photographs) of your original family photos. Submissions will be digital files only, and the originals will stay with you!
There are a few options!
Scanning:
• Scanners are ideal because they ensure the photo is flat and free of glare. If you have a personal scanner that gives you the option to scan as a document (PDF) or image (JPG), choose image/JPG.
• If you don’t have a scanner at home, we will be planning on-site story-gathering events where JMM staff and volunteers will bring scanners and assist with digitizing and uploading photo submissions. Please see our “events” section below for more information on this.
• Scanning services may be offered at your local library, FedEx, UPS, Staples, or a similar store. Call ahead to confirm whether the branch you plan to visit offers this service.
Phone or Camera:
• You can take a photograph of your old family photos, just keep a few things in mind to make sure they turn out well! Take time to position the original photo in such a way that you can take a straight-on (not skewed) photo, and so that the original photo is evenly lit (no shadows or glare).
Please reach out to us at info@jewishmuseummd.org with some information about the proposed venue and approximately how many people would be involved.
Please be sure to mention if you have a specific date in mind, and we will do our best to accommodate.
No; this project is free, but for those who can offer support, it is greatly appreciated! You can make a
donation to support this project on behalf of your organization here.
We typically allow about thirty minutes per participant, and can accommodate two participants at once. We can adjust the session duration based upon the level of interest within and needs of your group. We can plan for full days, mornings, or evenings as aligns with your program schedule.
• Interested participants (with their three photos and associated stories prepared)
• Assistance scheduling participants for timeslots
• Venue (with enough outlets for two sets of scanners/computers)
• Tables and chairs
• Consider creating a secondary space where your community can more informally share their
stories with each other in addition to us!
We will set up two submission stations, each with a scanner, computer, and facilitator (JMM staff or
volunteer) for each station.
If you think your group is large enough to need more, please reach out to us and we can assess what else is needed.
This depends on the submitter’s level of preparation. If they have written up and sent their stories ahead of time, it could take about ten or fifteen minutes to scan and upload their photos, transfer over their stories, and enter their submission. If the submitter needs assistance preparing their stories on site, the process will be longer.
No, you do not need to attend a story-gathering event to participate in Picturing Past & Present! These events are to assist those who would like assistance with digitization and submission, but if you would prefer to handle everything on your own, you are quite welcome to do so– Please visit the form here to upload your photos and stories.
Yes! When you sign up to host a story-gathering event, we can provide editable marketing materials that allow you to insert your venue, contact, and date information.
Erika Rief Hornstein's Submission
