Venue: University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds LS2 9JT
As political and social upheavals in and beyond Europe are transforming the meanings of cultural diversity and notions of heritage, a two-day international symposium will explore the critical debates about Jewish museums, museologies and Jewish presences in non-Jewish museums.
Organised by the Centre for Jewish Studies, this conference takes place on 13 & 14 March 2016 at the University of Leeds. It will include panels on current museum developments in and beyond Europe, including new and resurgent museums previously beyond the ‘Iron Curtain’.
The event will host two roundtables on international and UK debates around the role and future of Jewish museums and Jewish presences in the museum sphere. Themes discussed and debated will include Europe and migration/mobility; memory and trauma; the role of the object in the virtual age; the politics of display; multiple and layered identities; the role of visitors and communities.
Invited speakers include:
Felicitas Heimann-Jelinek, former chief curator at the Jewish Museum, Vienna; and Director of the professional training programme Keter: Understanding and Caring for Judaica Collections in Ukrainian Museums
Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Programme Director of the Core Exhibition for POLIN, the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw
Cilly Kugelmann, programme director and vice director of the Jewish Museum Berlin
Joanne Rosenthal, Curator, Exhibitions and Projects at the Jewish Museum London
The event will be of interest to museum professionals, museum studies students of all levels, heritage groups and museum visitors.
The conference costs £40 (£20 unwaged/student) for both days or £20 (£10 unwaged/student) for one-day registration. There is no registration cost for students of the University of Leeds.
Register on http://store.leeds.ac.uk/browse/extra_info.asp?compid=1&modid=2&catid=138&prodid=650
Enquiries: email Eva Frojmovic clsef@leeds.ac.uk
This event is supported by an EAJS (European Association for Jewish Studies) conference grant.