The CJM Blog

Julius Shulman, Kaufmann House designed by Richard Neutra (Palm Springs, CA), 1947. Gelatin silver print. Julius Shulman Photography Archive, Research Library at the Getty Research Institute. Copyright © J. Paul Getty Trust. Spring is a time of renewal. Here at The Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM) we renew our passion for making the diversity of Jewish life relevant for a twenty-first century audience through our exhibitions and programs. In our beautiful jewel of a building—a former power station that broadcasts big ideas—we’ll be celebrating Passover with free admission all eight days of the holiday—as we reflect on the age old story told in the Haggadah of the Jewish exodus from Egypt.  Freedom is hard won and never guaranteed even in a democracy. Our exhibition of all forty-eight original pages of the most famous Haggadah in the world— The Szyk Haggadah , is a reminder. The glorious retelling of the story through magnificent, complex illuminations and hand-painted ca...

Elisheva Biernoff, The Tools Are in Your Hands , proposal drawing, 2013. Courtesy of the artist and Eli Ridgway. This fall, The Contemporary Jewish Museum (The CJM) presents a wide range of perspectives on contemporary and twentieth-century art and ideas—ensuring that The CJM thrives as a place of intellectual excellence and welcomes all people to engage in salient conversations and experiences. In Work in Progress: Considering Utopia (Oct 3, 2013–Jan 20, 2014), The Museum has invited three contemporary artists to reflect on the concept of utopia through a range of participatory works of art that encourage rich dialogue. Oded Hirsch (b. 1976) and Ohad Meromi (b. 1967) were both born on kibbutzim and came of age in Israel during the 1990s; and Elisheva Biernoff (b. 1980), a well-established Bay Area artist, provides a fascinating contrast to both the possibilities and challenges of utopian ideals.