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Postponed: Spring 2020 Celebration

Magnes Collection of Jewish Life and Art 2121 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA, United States

Unfortunately, our Spring 2020 Celebration scheduled for Thursday, March 12 is postponed until further notice as UC Berkeley takes measures to minimize coronavirus exposure risks, including the suspension of public events for large groups. We apologize for the inconvenience. Notifications will be posted when the reschedule date is confirmed. In the meantime, our museum is operating during its […]

“Zooming In”: Teaching Online with the Magnes Exhibition “In Real Times”

Magnes Collection of Jewish Life and Art 2121 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA, United States

When, at the beginning of the semester, Prof. Francesco Spagnolo, Curator of The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, worked with Prof. Isabel Richter, DAAD Professor of History to plan a class visit to The Magnes for her course on Politics and Culture in 20th-Century Germany: Fascism and Propaganda, social distancing requirements were not a consideration. However, […]

Scent & Sensibility: Researching and Collecting around a Ritual Spice Box

Francesco Spagnolo (Curator, The Magnes) and Molly Robinson (Graduate Student, Folklore) discuss their research about a ritual spice box recently displayed by The Magnes, how exhibitions can serve as “archives,” and the meanings of ritual (including the ritual of “collecting”) in a time of social distancing. Spice boxes are created to hold scented herbs smelled […]

Francesco Spagnolo on Threads of Jewish Life

Take a lunch break & join Francesco Spagnolo, Curator of The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, University of California, Berkeley, for a presentation on a current exhibition of The Magnes, presented at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco: Threads of Jewish Life: Ritual and Other Textiles from the San Francisco Bay Area. In this […]

India, Israel, and Berkeley

Registration required for this free online program.

Join Magnes Curator, Francesco Spagnolo and panel guests as they discuss ties between Israel, India, and Berkeley by examining Indian-Jewish artifacts from the Magnes Collection. Deputy Consul General Zamir will talk about his experiences stationed in Mumbai. The history of Jewish culture in India and the present-day Indian-Jewish culture in Israel will also be discussed. […]

Hebrew Amulets: Practical Magic (and Health Insurance) in Early-Modern Times

From our series, "Zooming In: Weekly Curatorial Conversations from The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life." Each week, 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. Throughout the series, guests will join them to […]

Arthur Szyk and The Right to America

From our series, "Zooming In: Weekly Curatorial Conversations from The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life." Each week, 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. Throughout the series, guests will join them to […]

Graduating in Style: Ethnic Diversity at the University of Padua (Italy, 17th century)

From our series, "Zooming In: Weekly Curatorial Conversations from The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life." Each week, 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. Throughout the series, guests will join them to […]

Nature in the Song of Songs: An Early-20th century carpet from Jerusalem

From our series, "Zooming In: Weekly Curatorial Conversations from The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life." Each week, 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. Throughout the series, guests will join them to […]

The Social Medium that Once Was: Postcards in the Global Jewish Diaspora

From our series, "Zooming In: Weekly Curatorial Conversations from The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life." Each week, 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. Throughout the series, guests will join them to […]

From San Francisco to Paris (and Back): Theresa Herman and the Stein Family

From our series, "Zooming In: Weekly Curatorial Conversations from The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life." Each week, 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. Throughout the series, guests will join them to […]

On Hitler’s Balcony: Historian Koppel Pinson in Europe (1945-1946)

From our series, "Zooming In: Weekly Curatorial Conversations from The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life." Each week, 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. Throughout the series, guests will join them to […]