Behind-the-Scenes at the Jewish Museum: A Curatorial Intern
My four month part-time Curatorial Internship at the Jewish Museum encompassed a wide range of activities including (but not restricted to) research, collections care and exhibition preparation.
The Secret Life of Museum Objects
One of the most exciting things about working in a museum is the sense of wonder and discovery you experience when uncovering stories behind historic objects.
Barney Greenman’s toy truck back in London: History of a loan
In 2017 the Jewish Museum was approached for the loan of a special object in the collection: the toy truck that Holocaust survivor Leon Greenman made for his toddler son Barney from scraps of wood during the Second World War. It was going to be shown in a temporary exhibition entitled ‘Auschwitz. Not long ago. Nor far away’ in Madrid.
Director’s Blog: Maya Attoun and the Jewish connection
Museum Director Abigail Morris discusses the connection between the site-specific installation 'The Charms of Frankenstein' and Simchat Torah
Theatrical Photoshoot!
Theatre costumes worn by the award-winning Jewish actor, Henry Goodman, during productions of The Merchant of Venice and Fiddler on the Roof have recently entered the collection of Jewish Museum London thanks to the actor’s generous donation. Before storing them safely away, we took the opportunity to set up a 2-day photoshoot (yes, it really […]
Fragments of Childhood – Then and Now
by Jemima Jarman, Assistant Curator The Jewish Museum London recently received a generous donation of 14 charming oil paintings, depicting East Ham, Ilford in the 1930s. The artist, A. David Crown, M.D., (1924-2016), created these paintings after retiring from a medical career in Rochester, New York; drawing upon memories of his early childhood and the […]
Orientalism in the Alfred Rubens Collection
by Dr Kathrin Pieren, Collections Manager and Curator The museum’s Rubens Collection of 1,600 drawings, prints, etchings, and lithographs from the 17th to the 20th century encompasses scenes from Jewish life and portrays Jewish personalities, mostly from Britain. Yet, it also includes ethnographic prints of Jews from Northern Africa, Turkey and the Middle East. These […]
Sephardi Dress
by Miriam Phelan, Assistant Curator Sephardi Voices, currently on display in the museum’s Welcome Gallery, explores the stories of Jewish immigrants to the UK from across the Islamic world through video interviews, photographs and a selection of objects from the collection. The Jewish Museum London has a number of Sephardi objects, including rare and beautiful […]
The Sephardi Community of the Resettlement Era
by Dr Kathrin Pieren, Collections Manager and Curator The current exhibition on Jewish people who came to the UK from the Middle East and Northern Africa in the 20th century – Sephardi Voices – seems a good opportunity to look at the history of an earlier Sephardi community (people whose ancestry goes back to Spain, called […]
Jews of Iraq
by Miriam Phelan, Assistant Curator Over the next few months we will be exploring Sephardi Jewish communities from around the world and throughout time on the blog, alongside our exhibition Sephardi Voices: Jews from North Africa, the Middle East and Iran. Explore the historic Iraqi Jewish communities in the first of these blogs below. The […]
