“Jewish experience cannot just be about defending against fear; it also has to be an expression of hope and joy and freedom.”
Jewish Culture Month, which has been set up by the Board of Deputies, will run until June 16 and feature more than 100 events celebrating Jewish heritage, creativity and culture across the country.
National institutions taking part and showcasing their Jewish collections include The British Museum, British Library, Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Victoria and Albert Museum, Museum of the Home, The Science Museum, The Whitworth, Manchester Museum, Museum of Liverpool and The Story Museum. The BBC is also broadcasting several programmes connected to Jewish Culture Month.
A fiddler on the roof at the Jewish Culture Month launch (Image: Sophie Shaw)[Missing Credit]
Guests at the launch were invited to explore Freud’s study and view works by surrealist artist Leonora Carrington.
They were also invited to share their dreams – a nod to Sigmund Freud’s work on the subconscious – and were given artistic interpretations of their dreamscapes to take home.
Board of Deputies acting president Adrian Cohen said: “There’s something for everyone – Jewish or non-Jewish alike. British Jewish culture is not something that exists in isolation. It is woven deeply into our cultural life.
“For hundreds of years, Jews have been part of this country’s story, as writers, musicians, artists, entrepreneurs, performers, thinkers and organisers. Jewish creativity has helped shape modern Britain in countless ways.
But he added that Jewish Culture Month wouldn’t “just look backwards with pride. It is about who we are today: religious and secular, traditional and experimental, rooted and evolving.”
Board of Deputies’ director of culture, education and communities Liat Rosenthal added: “Jewish culture has never been something sealed behind glass. It is living culture, an argumentative culture, a hospitable culture, a culture of memory and reinvention. [Jewish culture is about] stories carried across borders and generations, then remade anew.
“This month has been created collectively by the picklers, the bakers, the candlestick makers; by scholars and singers, volunteers and visionaries. We are all part of this moment.”
To find out what is coming up click here.
