Be a part of the Magnes

We have just concluded a bustling academic year anchored by our exhibition Flowing through Time and Tradition, which explored how water flows through and shapes Jewish life, prompting us to consider how our own rhythms and cycles mirror or connect with nature. As spring unfolded in the natural world, so too, was the Magnes aflutter with activity and the promise of seasonal growth. We welcomed visitors for programs like gallery tours, class visits, and our second annual Jewish Arts & Bookfest. Our new senior curator, Dr. Alissa Schapiro, joined our team following a national search. And our collections team is working behind the scenes to develop a new exhibition, Nancy Lee Katz: A Private Pantheon, featuring the extraordinary portrait photography of Nancy Lee Katz that will open on September 2.   

Thanks to your past support, we have been able to connect our community to art, culture, and the richness of Jewish life. Your continued support today will help us build on this momentum.

“I’m excited about the role museums like the Magnes play in preserving Jewish culture and making it meaningful for new generations, and I’d love to be part of that work.” — Magnes Teen Volunteer

In December, kindergarteners from Camp Gan Israel in Emeryville created a collaborative artwork inspired by a village scene painted by Zelig Tepper (Untitled, 1952). This semester, UC Berkeley undergraduates taking “The History and Cultures of Jews in the United States” researched objects and artworks from the Magnes’s collection—including a 19th-century Torah shield from San Francisco’s Congregation Beth Israel-Judea and Ira Nowinski’s 1984 photograph of a Karaite boy holding a Torah case in San Jose—to examine the richness and diversity of American Jewish culture while considering the challenges Jews in the United States have faced for generations. 

In April, the artistic fellows of LABA BAY deepened their yearlong exploration of the mystery and potency behind names during an interactive study day that connected Jewish texts with amulets for the protection of mothers and newborns from the collection. And this spring musician Elana Sasson returned to the Magnes with a musical performance, “No Lines in the Sea,” that she developed specifically for Flowing through Time and Tradition. Her concert of ten songs sung in seven languages expanded the conversation the exhibition opened, exploring water as celebration and mourning, as memory and loss, and as hope and survival. 

“I’m excited about the role museums like the Magnes play in preserving Jewish culture and making it meaningful for new generations, and I’d love to be part of that work,” shared one of the Magnes’s teen volunteers. 

If you agree, make a gift to the Magnes’s Annual Fund to be part of our work.

Your donation today will enable us to develop new exhibitions, including Nancy Lee Katz: A Private Pantheon, and programs like “No Lines in the Sea” that spark curiosity, foster community building, and deepen knowledge. 

Become a Friend of the Magnes

With an annual donation of $100 or more, you become part of the Friends of the Magnes. As a friend, you’ll enjoy Donor Perks that include discounted tickets to our signature programs and special invitations to preview new exhibitions before they are open to the public.

Thank you for your support of the Magnes and for being part of the museum’s community.