CULTURE
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Tattoos, tefillin and telling stories
To coincide with the release of a new book that portrays the lives of mother-daughter artists Lois and Carey, we speak to Rona Bar and Ofek Avshalom, the Israeli photographers behind the project “This one encounter opened us up to a whole new world,” says Rona Bar, one half of the photography duo Fotómetro. “[After seeing] their relationship, the house…
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Campaigners fight closure of Irma Stern museum — Jewish Renaissance
As the home and studio of the South African artist faces an uncertain future Deon Viljoen says its demise will mark a significant cultural loss Often embroiled in controversy during her lifetime, the South African-born painter, sculptor, and collector Irma Stern would probably have launched a fierce counteroffensive to the unexpected announcement that her home and studio, left by her…
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Jewish Stories in Our Own Words — Jewish Renaissance
Voloj, born in Germany to Colombian parents, is the executive director of Be’chol Lashon, an organisation dedicated to celebrating ethnic and racial diversity within the Jewish community, as well as the author of several graphic novels. His co-editor, Sapolsky, a French-American artist and writer with both Ashkenazi and Sephardic roots, is the co-creator of Spider-Man Noir and founder of FairSquare Press. Comics were their chosen format,…
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De-Composition – Beauty on the Edge of Nothingness — Jewish Renaissance
The exhibition at Burgh House consists primarily of collages and sculptural assemblages made from organic and inorganic materials found in fields and on beaches. The work is inspired by extended periods of time spent in Japan, including a recent four-week art residency there, and it is influenced by the Japanese philosophical aesthetic of ‘wabi sabi’. In her own eloquent words,…
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In conversation: Deb Filler
As Kiwi comic and musician Deb Filler kicks off her London run this month, Judi Herman speaks to her about the moments that made her Comedian, actor and musician Deb Filler has had one hell of a life and career, much of which we discover in Cohen, Bernstein, Joni and Me. This latest show from the Jewish New Zealander –…
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Cohen, Bernstein, Joni and Me ★★★★★ — Jewish Renaissance
When she met Leonard Bernstein in 1974, and shared with him that her father had been in the audience at a concert he played for Holocaust survivors in Munich in 1948, he closed Auckland Town Hall to play a piano concerto just for her, that she got to watch from a seat in the dress circle designated by Bernstein, who…
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Holocaust Memorial Day 2026 events — Jewish Renaissance
Sunday 25 JanuaryHolocaust Memorial DayCommemorate Holocaust Memorial Day in an evening of discussion, poetry, music and reflection. Guests include speakers Tali Smus, who discusses life as a Jewish student in London, Rabbi Golker of Richmond Synagogue and Councillor Penny Frost, Mayor of Richmond upon Thames. Plus live music from Steve Levi of klezmer band Oi Va Voi.7pm. FREE. Richmond Synagogue,…
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Mazel tov to JR team members on the New Year Honours List — Jewish Renaissance
Long-standing members of the JR editorial board, Dr Bea Lewkowicz and Michael Mail, have been awarded honours by the King We are thrilled to have two long-standing editorial board members recognised on the King’s New Year Honours List. Dr Bea Lewkowicz, an oral historian, anthropologist, filmmaker and photographer, has been with JR from the early days and was awarded an…
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Indian Ink ★★★★ — Jewish Renaissance
Tom Stoppard’s time-hopping drama enjoys an evocative revival The sad passing of Tom Stoppard last month adds a particular poignancy to this revival of Indian Ink, his intriguing drama set in two different time periods. And it is a real joy that Felicity Kendal, who was in the original 1995 production, has returned, playing a different central character. She established…
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The Future of Holocaust Education — Jewish Renaissance
The breadth of participants testified to the research findings of Ben Barkow (former director of the Wiener Library) that “the field is large and diverse and able to support a wide range of approaches and levels of interest in the subject”, despite the shrinking of humanities and history provision in schools and universities. Barkow and others wondered why we expect…
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