An October 7th memorial event—“Our Memories–Our Hope–Our Community,”—will be held at the OFJCC on Wednesday, October 7. Click here for more information and to register.

A traveling exhibition by ANU – Museum of the Jewish People will be on display from October 1 through October 22 in the lobby of the Albert and Janet Schultz Cultural Arts Hall (Bldg. F). The exhibition explores the response of Israeli culture to the events of October 7, 2023.

The exhibition curates works by 25 artists whose creative activity reflects the atrocious times Israeli society is facing since October 7th. Some of them are living artists, some deceased—either murdered on October 7th or died during the ongoing war— while others are residents (or former residents) of the southern areas, who suffered the loss of their loved ones, their homes or whose families were affected by the horrors of the massacre.

The new exhibition records the unique creative burst that has been felt among Israelis since the war began. The aftermath of the horrific attacks on October 7, 2023—and the war that ensued—led many Israelis to rethink the way we interpret our history, art and culture. The prevailing feeling is that even after the war ends, things will never be as they were and the anger and profound grief will have a lasting effect on our lives.

In times of joy, as well as in times of sadness, art has always been a way to cope with reality. Artists uniquely respond to and portray the events of the day, interpreting and expressing our collective memory. In the words of Sofie Berzon MacKie, a survivor of the massacre in Kibbutz Be’eri and the curator of the local gallery that was burned to the ground, “Art articulates occurrences and provides us with images.”

It has been said that “when the cannons are heard, the muses are silent.” The need to survive is thought to quiet ideas, thoughts and creation. This notion seems to have been turned on its head during this war, and we are experiencing an abundance of creativity in all art fields. As the cannons are heard, the voices of the muses are emerging all the more clearly from deep down in the throat.

This exhibition does not sum things up or offer an angle on Israeli art since October 7. It presents a particular situation and bears witness to the unique surge of creativity in Israeli society since the outbreak of the war.

For more information, please contact Meital Pnini at [email protected].