After a £10 million, major redevelopment, and amid national publicity, on March 17 2010, the Jewish Museum London reopened its doors.

Two years on, at the launch of its latest exhibition, No Place Like Home: Photographs by Judah Passow, there is a palpable buzz of excitement. The 150 or so guests are thronging the building, in particular the gallery space where Passow's work is exhibited.

By the age of 17 Piper Laurie had achieved her childhood dreams of movie stardom.

For actor Ilan Goodman there was a tad more than usual to consider while preparing for his role in the UK premiere of Red Light Winter at the Theatre Royal in Bath.

On top of the quick-fire dialogue spoken by his character Matt, a lovelorn writer on the verge of a nervous breakdown; and aside from the rehearsal-room tension of getting naked for the raw and tender sex scenes with his co-star Sal

For actor Ilan Goodman there was a tad more than usual to consider while preparing for his role in the UK premiere of Red Light Winter at the Theatre Royal in Bath.

On top of the quick-fire dialogue spoken by his character Matt, a lovelorn writer on the verge of a nervous breakdown; and aside from the rehearsal-room tension of getting naked for the raw and tender sex scenes with his co-star Sal

When Life magazine wanted an Israeli leader on its front cover, American photographer, Arnold Newman was the first choice to provide the shot. His access and experience made him one of the most important portrait photographers.

In the spring of 1914, the Whitechapel Art Gallery mounted an exhibition displaying the best of the then current trends in art. Such was the richness and variety of the paintings by Jewish artists recently arrived as immigrants, that the gallery devoted a entire section to their work. The reaction of the JC's critic was mixed.

Last year, Paddy Wivell made A Hasidic Guide to Love, Marriage and Finding a Bride which was accused by many in Stamford Hill of fundamentally misrepresenting the community. Now, Wivell is back with the sequel, which takes two of the "characters" from the previous documentary, Gaby and Tikwah Lock, and follows them on a Mediterranean cruise.

This promises to be a busy year for Israeli-born, London-based artist Ori Gersht.

The National Portrait Gallery is celebrating the life and work of the late Lucian Freud by holding a major retrospective of his drawings and paintings, which opened yesterday. Lucian died last summer, aged 88.