The Jewish Museum of Maryland is seeking submissions for its upcoming exhibition, “A Fence Around the Torah: Safety and Unsafety in Jewish Life.” The deadline for submissions is Sunday, Sept. 5.
Running from Nov. 21, 2021, to Feb. 13, 2022, “A Fence Around the Torah” will be an artist-curated exhibit exploring safety and exclusion in Jewish communities. It will on display in the JMM’s Samson, Rossetta and Sadie B. Feldman Gallery.
Curated by Liora Ostroff, the JMM’s curator-in-residence, the exhibition will explore safety and exclusion in Jewish communities and institutions in responding to rising anti-Semitism, while acknowledging the ways that Jewish institutions have created physical and emotional dangers for community members and neighbors marginalized by white supremacy and systemic oppression.
As a part of this exhibit, the JMM seeks submissions from artists, musical performers, cultural innovators and poets that highlight the internal conflict over safety and exclusion within Jewish communities and institutions, including personal reflections on queer life and Judaism, racial justice in Jewish spaces, and dreams for inclusion and solidarity coming from within Jewish institutions and the organized Jewish community.
Submissions should address one or more of the following questions:
* When do you feel safe?
* Who feels unsafe in Jewish communities and institutions and why?
* When does what makes some feel safe make others feel unsafe?
* How do diverse Jewish communities handle the question of safety?
* How does unsafety and exclusion affect personal relationships with Judaism and Jewish community?
* How do we imagine Jewish futures, safety, and solidarity?
* How do excluded voices make space for themselves?
* How does the issue of safety in Jewish spaces connect to broader conversations about safety, justice, and policing in the greater community?
Guidelines include:
* Artists are invited to submit up to five pieces of their original work.
* Submissions can include existing work or plans for new work that will be completed in advance of the exhibit.
* Any medium or format will be considered.
* Any work exceeding 7’ by 6’ by 6’ must be able to be disassembled and assembled onsite by JMM staff.
* While the JMM has some ability to provide minor mounts and hardware, artwork must be delivered ready to be installed.
Submissions should include:
* A brief artist’s statement or biography
* A description of the work that outlines a creative response to one or more of the questions listed above and exemplifies how these themes can be personal, political, and central to Jewish life.
* JPEG or PDF images of work, if applicable.
* Medium or format of the work.
* Dimensions and weight of artwork, or approximate if the work has not yet been created.
* A/V technology requirements for your piece, if applicable.
* Your location (within the United States).
Preference will be given to artists who indicate in their submissions that they are interested and willing to participate in an artist talk, interview, or lead a community workshop. Participating artists will be asked to reflect on and discuss how their work relates to the central themes of the exhibit, their personal relationships to these questions, and engage in conversation with other participating artists to illuminate the connections between works.
For information, contact Liora Ostroff at jmmresidency@jewishmuseummd.org.
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