Jewish Museum

THE MISSION OF THE JEWISH MUSEUM IS TO COLLECT, PRESERVE, EXHIBIT AND INTERPRET JEWISH ART.

MUSEUM PROGRAMS, GENERAL/OTHER:THE JEWISH MUSEUM IS AN ART MUSEUM COMMITTED TO ILLUMINATING THE COMPLEXITY AND VIBRANCY OF JEWISH CULTURE FOR A GLOBAL AUDIENCE. THROUGH DISTINCTIVE EXHIBITIONS AND PROGRAMS THAT PRESENT THE WORK OF DIVERSE ARTISTS AND THINKERS, WE SHARE IDEAS, PROVOKE DIALOGUE, AND PROMOTE UNDERSTANDING. (CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O)THE JEWISH MUSEUM COLLECTION CHRONICLES 4,000 YEARS OF JEWISH CULTURE THROUGH NEARLY 30,000 OBJECTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. THE MUSEUM ACTIVELY ACQUIRES ART (SCULPTURE, PAINTINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHS), JUDAICA, AND MEDIA THAT ARE RELATED TO JEWISH EXPERIENCES, WHETHER BY VIRTUE OF THE SUBJECT DEPICTED, BECAUSE OF THE IMPLIED INTENT OF THE ARTIST, OR BECAUSE A WORK BY A JEWISH ARTIST REPRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO ART AND CULTURAL HISTORY.THE JEWISH MUSEUM'S DYNAMIC TEMPORARY INSTALLATION BY RENOWNED ARTIST LAWRENCE WEINER WAS PRESENTED ON THE MUSEUM'S FIFTH AVENUE FACADE, TRANSFORMING THE BUILDING INTO A PUBLIC ARTWORK AND SPREADING A MESSAGE OF SHARED HUMANITY ALONG MUSEUM MILE.FOR THIS NEW ARTWORK COMMISSIONED BY THE JEWISH MUSEUM, WEINER DREW UPON AN OLD YIDDISH PHRASE HE OFTEN HEARD WHEN GROWING UP, "ALE YEVANIM HABN EYN PUNIM," MEANING ALL GREEKS (I.E., ALL NON-JEWS) HAVE THE SAME FACE. THESE WORDS, AN EXPRESSION OF JEWISH SELF-ISOLATION AND ANXIETY, AROSE IN RESPONSE TO THE LONG HISTORY OF ANTI-SEMITISM, REPEATING THE SAME INSULARITY AND SUSPICION OF "OTHERS" TO WHICH THEY WERE SUBJECT. WEINER RECONCEIVED THIS TEXT TO READ ALL THE STARS IN THE SKY HAVE THE SAME FACE, AND TRANSLATED IT SIMULTANEOUSLY INTO ENGLISH, HEBREW, AND ARABIC ON A FIELD OF VIBRANT BLUE. HIS REIMAGINING OF THE EFFECTS OF ANTI-SEMITISM IS INSEPARABLE FROM THE RESURGENCES OF XENOPHOBIA AND RACISM WE HAVE SEEN ENACTED IN OUR OWN CITY AND AROUND THE GLOBE, URGING US TO REEXAMINE WHO WE ARE AND WHERE WE WANT TO BE TODAY. WEINER'S ARTWORK SIGNALS A RESTORATIVE, UNIFYING SENTIMENT; IT PROMPTS US TO THINK COLLECTIVELY, TO IMAGINE ALL THAT WE MAY ACCOMPLISH IF WE WORK TOGETHER.

ART MUSEUM CONSERVATION PROGRAMS:ACQUISITION, STORAGE, CONSERVATION AND MAINTENANCE OF COLLECTION OF JUDAICA OBJECTS, ART (SCULPTURE, PAINTINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHS), FILM RELATED TO ART AND JEWISH CULTURE.