An exhibition created in collaboration with Jeffrey Shandler (Rutgers University), a leading figure in the study of modern Jewish culture. The Inventory Project centered on Shandler’s research on the creation of "lists" and inventories as a "defining practice of modern Jewish culture, although seldom recognized as such," and offered an unconventional look at The Magnes […]

Sound Objects combined the study of Jewish material culture with the emerging field of Sound Studies and investigated the role of objects that emit sound during synagogue rituals. Some objects used in synagogue rituals are designed to produce specific sounds, such as the shofar horn blasted on the High Holy Days, and the noisemakers used […]

With Global India, curated in collaboration with Barbara Johnson (Ithaca College), The Magnes unveiled its extensive holdings documenting the history of the Jewish community in Kerala, South India, collected in the 1960s and 70s. The exhibition centered on the community’s deep connections with India’s society and cultures and with the global Jewish Diaspora, across the […]

Curators Francesco Spagnolo and Shir Kochavi present insights and connections emerging from the holdings of UC Berkeley's Magnes Collection, one of the largest Jewish museum collections in the world. Zooming In: Gourmet Ghettos: Modern Food Rituals reflects on the Fall, 2014 exhibition Gourmet Ghettos, and highlights how it will be revisited, along with other Magnes […]

Curators Francesco Spagnolo and Shir Kochavi present insights and connections emerging from the holdings of UC Berkeley's Magnes Collection, one of the largest Jewish museum collections in the world. Zooming In: I-Tal-Yah: An Island of Divine Dew. Italian Crossroads in Jewish Culture reflects on the Fall, 2016 exhibition I-Tal-Yah, and highlights how it will be […]

Curators Francesco Spagnolo and Shir Kochavi present insights and connections emerging from the holdings of UC Berkeley's Magnes Collection, one of the largest Jewish museum collections in the world. Zooming In: Pièces de Résistance: Echoes of Judaea Capta From Ancient Coins to Modern Art reflects on the Fall, 2018 exhibition Pièces de Résistance, and highlights […]