Happening

30 Years of Nicole Eisenman’s Macabre Jewish Art

At the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, 100 paintings by French-American Jewish artist Nicole Eisenman will be on view until September 22, 2024. The exhibition spans nearly 30 years of Eisenman’s career—viewers will note an evolution in style, technique, tone, and subject matter. And don’t miss “Seder,” which positions the viewer at the head of the seder table, surrounded by a boldly colored family of stylistically diverse figures engaged in—and some, barely tolerating—their Passover ritual. Visit mcachicago.org.

A Baby-Naming Book—for Kids!

Joyful Song (Levine Querido $18.99), a colorful new book from author Lesléa Newman and illustrator Susan Gal, celebrates the Jewish ritual of naming ceremonies. The story follows newly-minted big brother Zachary as he eagerly anticipates his baby sister’s naming, where he will have the honor of announcing his sister’s name for the first time. Newman, a champion of inclusive storytelling for kids and adults, has created a world where, according to Kirkus reviews, “[The] words and art brim with warmth; the love and support in this diverse community are palpable.” More at lesleanewman.com.

The Case of Anna O.

“Ann and Anna O,” a new play by Cheryl Paley, developed and directed by Susan Einhorn, presents the late Ann Jackowitz, feminist writer and activist who studied Bertha Pappenheim for decades for her screenplay “The Case of Anna O.” In revealing Anna, Ann scrutinizes her own life. Program notes for the play’s first public reading—in April in Manhattan—link antisemitism and assaults on LGBTQ and reproductive rights, making “the stories of two Jewish women who defied social norms and prevailed even more poignant.” bit.ly/AnnaOPlay.

Botanical Antisemitism

Botannica Tirannica is a new exhibition in Toronto that explores the “Prejudicial history of plant naming.” Starting with the “Wandering Jew,” a nickname for the Tradescantia zebrina plant and including unexpected details, such as an exploration of the antisemitic history of mushrooms and garlic, the award-winning Brazilian artist Giselle Beiguelman has constructed a multimedia display, including plants, AI imagery, videos, and watercolor paintings to delve into this unexplored history. The exhibition was created in collaboration with a team of Indigenous Canadian scientists, a professor of biology, a gardener and agricultural expert and a soundscape composer. Botannica Tirannica is on display until October 20, 2024. Kofflerarts.org

LILITH WRITERS IN FILM

Overdue

Author and filmmaker Penny B. Jackson has written the script for a new short film, in collaboration with director Melissa Skirboll, and it has already collected a full slate of awards along the film festival circuit. Jackson is a Lilith contributor, featured author in Lilith’s fiction anthology Frankly Feminist, and the initiator of Lilith’s New 40 mentorship program for emerging writers over age 40. The film follows Jason and Maureen (played by Howard Hendrix Powell and Jeanine Bartel) as they meet and develop a relationship in the midst of their own personal crises. The Independent Critic says it “beautifully weaves together a tapestry of both comedy and drama.” More at pennybrandtjackson.com.

Perpetual

Sally Edelstein, Lilith contributor and graduate of Lilith’s New 40 writing mentorship program, has a created a short film inspired by her essay in Lilith’s summer 2023 issue, “Finding Solace in an Unlikely Spot.” The film, Perpetual, brings to life Edelstein’s story of loss, depression, and finding comfort and belonging in her family’s cemetery. The film premiered and won the award for Best Voiceover at the New Bedford Film Festival in April 2024. Catch the film, and read Edelstein’s essay at bit.ly/LilithEdelstein.

Farm and Forest School for Kids

Beginning September 8th, the Pearlstone Retreat Center in Reisterstown, MD will host a new session of their Farm and Forest School for youth ages 6–16. This hands-on, Jewish-framed experience will offer kids a chance to enjoy, learn, and connect with their natural surroundings in fun, spiritual and intentional ways. Led by wilderness educator Joe Murray, farmer educator Alexa White and coordinator Stephanie Katsampis, learning opportunities will include plant and animal care, cooking, natural building, and much more! Registration and pricing at Bit.ly/AdamahFarmForest.

Can A Woman Get a Gett?

In a traditional heterosexual Jewish marriage, divorce has only been permitted when a husband “releases” his wife through a document known as a get. But in December 2022, Jewish decisors in the Conservative movement’s Rabbinical Assembly—including Lilith board member Rabbi Jaymee Alpert—voted in favor of more egalitarian divorce procedures which would allow women to initiate a divorce in the case of marriages in the Conservative/ Masorti community “created through a fully egalitarian ceremony and recorded in a fully egalitarian ketubbah.” Rabbi Alpert, Rabbi Deborah Silver, and Dr. Toby Schofeld are now working on creating a ritual to guide this new process. Find out more at rabbinicalassembly.org.

Equalizing Betrothal

New pathways to more egalitarian Jewish marriage in the Conservative/Masorti Movement are highlighted in a recent edition of Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women’s Studies and Gender Issues. Featured teshuvot (opinions derived from Jewish law) include arguments by Rabbis Pamela Barmash and Gail Labovitz in favor of reimagining the ketubah (marriage contract) and kiddushin (betrothal) with an eye to gender equality, granting women more agency in heterosexual marriage. Iupress.org

JEWS AND ART IN GERMANY NOW

Judaism and Sexuality in Berlin

“Sex: Jewish Positions” is a provocative new exhibition at the Jewish Museum in Berlin showcasing multimedia art and artifacts from multiple eras (including a few of Lilith’s iconic magazine covers!), drawing from Jewish tradition and evolving perspectives on sex, “from the central importance of marriage and procreation, via desire, taboos, and the questioning of social norms, to the eroticism of spirituality.” Artists, religious scholars, rabbis, scientists, and sex therapists all have something to say. Plenty of digital content is available, from interviews with the artists to “Androgynous Characters in I.B. Singer’s Literary Shtetl,” and essay by writer Helena Lutz. Plan your visit before October 6, 2024. Bit.ly/BerlinSexPositions

Jewish Portraits in Munich

At the Jewish Museum in Munich, “Picture Stories” features 40 painted portraits ranging through Jewish identity and experience, including faces both familiar and forgotten. They point to German Jews’ “long path to emancipation and their struggle to be seen,” and tell of the shift in the clientele for such portraits after 1933. On view until March 2, 2025. Bit.ly/MunichPortraits

A Quilted History

The Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh will open a new exhibit September 1, 2024, featuring the personal and communal works of Louise Silk (featured in Lilith’s winter 2005 issue). “A Patchwork Life” is a retrospective that will showcase Silk’s exploration of Jewish and American identities through her intricate quilts, such as “I Was There, I Am Here: The Illumination of the Soul,” a 1994 piece inspired by the Jewish calendar. Visitors will also have the opportunity to contribute textiles to a community quilt and take patches from a finished Silk-original quilt. Heinzhistorycenter.org

Overflow, Afterglow

An exhibition at the Jewish Museum in New York City features a vastly diverse group of Jewish artists, from queer Columbian-born painter Ilana Savdie to deaf, trans East Asian-American performer and sculptor Chella Man to Iranian-born painter Sara Issakharian. “Overflow, Afterglow” wants to harness, as its wall panels declare, “supernatural color and uncanny luminescence” to break boundaries and explore identity, challenge cultural norms, comment on current sociopolitical conflict and more. Works include bold abstract paintings, a life-size nude trans body in resin, and multimedia self-portraits. Note that this exhibition comes with a trigger warning, as some works feature sexually explicit material. bit.ly/JewishMuseumOverglow

Compiled by Arielle Silver-Willner