Artwork goes on the menu to build bridges between faiths - The Jewish Chronicle

A new exhibit at the Manchester Jewish Museum (MJM) is merging Muslim and Jewish culture through food, thanks to the creative camaraderie of one multifaith women’s art group.

“A Taste of Culture”, the latest embroidery project by an all-woman circle of Muslim and Jewish textile makers, celebrates the recipes and flavours that shaped the artists’ cultural memories, from warmly spiced masala tea beloved in South Asia to the savoury comfort of chicken soup, aka “Jewish penicillin”.

Stitched together with red thread on a white dress, the patchwork of diverse dishes is emblematic of the multicultural group that created it.

“I thought that food would be a really good metaphor for different people in different cultures and religions, because we each have a distinct cultural identity in food,” said multimedia artist and textile maker Jo Scorah, who was commissioned by MJM during Covid to lead the established women’s textile group through regular Zoom meetings.

Their work, which has included a cover for a Sefer Torah prop used in MJM learning sessions, several dresses and a collaboration with the French Turner Prize winner Laure Prouvost, tends to emphasise the group’s multicultural ethos and femininity.

Artist Jo Scorah Photo: courtesy)[Missing Credit]

“We’re focused very much on diversity and building bridges between communities,” said Scorah, who comes from a Sephardic Jewish background through her Syrian grandparents. “All the ladies in the group come from completely different backgrounds and cultures, and yet we all come together in our love of embroidery and sewing.”

With some of the women having moved out of Manchester since Covid, Scorah decided to carry on holding the meetings remotely, where they continue to discuss ideas in between working on their own portions of the projects at home.

“I usually start on mine first, and I can then show them the drawings and how I started and what I want them to do,” said Scorah.

For their latest project, she asked the 16 women involved to embroider recipes from their respective cultures onto textile cutouts, which she then sewed together with red thread, “a bit like a jigsaw”.

Scorah, who brought her own Sephardic background into the piece with a recipe for red and green stuffed peppers, said she felt an easy affinity with the Muslim women in the group, thanks to her Syrian roots. Though she was born in England, “my parents spoke Arabic at home as a second language, and we always used to go to Arabic shops and eat Arabic food.

“That’s why even my personal work has also always had a lot to do with cultures and bringing people together,” she said.

"A Taste of Culture" dress at Manchester Jewish Museum[Missing Credit]

Its location in Cheetham Hill – one of the most diverse areas in Manchester – has contributed to MJM’s multicultural ethos, which prioritises projects like the women’s textiles group that help build continuity between local communities.

“I think women can come together a lot better and make more of an impact because women – and I think especially in this group – tend to have this desire to build bridges between communities,” Scorah said. “And they’re such lovely women in the group. We all get on very well together. We don’t really discuss politics, as you can imagine, but basically, we’re all coming from the same place.”

‘A Taste of Culture’ is now on display at Manchester Jewish Museum until March 2026. For further details, go to: manchesterjewishmuseum.com or click here

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Topics:

Manchester Jewish Museum

Art exhibition