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 […]
As Berkeley's official open house, Cal Week is where the entire Berkeley campus community devotes time to engage with our newly admitted students. The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life has several opportunities for incoming students to learn more about us, including a curatorial conversation from our Zooming In series, student profiles and testimonials from our undergraduate […]
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 […]
Bringing the Light On the occasion of Hanukkah, we are partnering with the Bay Area's six Jewish Community Centers to bring you the light from the 200 Hanukkah lamps in The Magnes Collection. We invite you to join us in discovering the culturally rich stories of these unique lamps collected from Europe, North Africa, the […]
In celebrating a decade at UC Berkeley, Time Capsules revisits ten out of the over 30 exhibitions presented since the Magnes opened the doors of its new academic home to the public. Each exhibition featured in Time Capsules is unique in exploring the cultures of Jews in a global perspective, in bringing museum objects back to life, and […]
Led by curatorial staff, The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at UC Berkeley opens its doors for a behind the scenes view of our exhibitions and holdings.
Led by curatorial staff, The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at UC Berkeley opens it's doors for a behind the scenes view of our exhibitions and holdings.
Berkeley's Center for Jewish Studies presents a spring poetry panel featuring Dan Alter with Erika Meitner and Daniel Khalatschi, two of the most exciting Jewish poets working in the US, with new books out now and in the spring. Naomi Seidman will moderate a discussion and reading, offering poetry as a lens into how particular sensibilities navigate these issues in a time of uncertainty and possibility.
