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The Jewish Museum explores the intersection of art and Jewish culture.
Its artifacts communicate key ideas about archaeology and ancient
civilizations, immigration, the Holocaust, cultural identity, and
the art of painting. The Museum also explores the American Jewish
experience, especially in New York. In the process, it covers
a lot of the history of New York and the United States. The
permanent collection, in particular, incorporates a great deal of
United States history. While the majority of its objects relating
to American history are from the last 100 years, several date back
as far as the founding of the country. The Portrait of Sally Etting
by Thomas Sully, for example, dates back to 1808. It portrays a young
girl from a prominent Jewish family that immigrated to Baltimore at
the turn of the 19th century.
In addition to the two floors dedicated to the permanent collection,
there are two floors that host other exhibitions. Check those floors
out, too! They might just have to do with American history. During
our visit, the Museum had a special exhibition entitled “New
York: Capital of Photography” that consisted of pictures of
New York from the advent of photography to the present day.
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To help you navigate your way through the galleries, you might consider
starting with a tour. Tours of the permanent and special exhibitions
are free with admission and offered daily. They always add interesting
detail and perspective to your visit. In addition you could pick up
an audioguide. These nifty contraptions are currently available for
the permanent exhibition, “Culture and Continuity: The Jewish
Experience” and selected special exhibitions. They are free
with admission so you should give them a try.
To give you an idea of just a few of the things you can explore, here
are a few topics; immigration, the Holocaust, the American Jewish
experience, and how television shapes our ideas of culture. No matter
what you are studying, don’t count out the Jewish Museum. They
just might have information on it.
The Education Department said that the best way to use the Museum
is really just to come in on your own and view the current exhibitions,
these include the Museum’s permanent exhibition: Culture and
Continuity the Jewish Journey [http://www.thejewishmuseum.org/site/pages/
page.php?id=72] and special exhibitions [http://www.thejewishmuseum.org/site/pages/
page.php?id=68]. Whether or not you have a topic in mind, that’s
a great way to get information. You can even get a feel for what the
Museum offers before visiting it by going online and browsing through
the Museum’s online exhibitions [http://www.thejewishmuseum.org/site/pages/page.php?
id=70]. You should also consider checking out the online exhibitions
even if you have already visited the Museum in person, because it's
a great resource for more information on works in the Museum’s
collection you already saw, particularly if you are interested in
finding out more. And while the Museum focuses on art and not history,
the text panels in the exhibitions tend to give a great deal of historical
information about the different artifacts.
We would recommend reading the website’s information about the
exhibition you are interested in viewing before you go to the Museum.
As further impetus to check out the website, you should know that
the Museum occasionally puts discount admission ticket offers there.
All you have to do is print out the page with the offer and give it
to the cashier when you buy your admission ticket.
At the Museum, or online before you visit, be sure to look for brochures
about current public programs and an updated Museum calendar. Although
there may be a fee for public programs, they tend to be related to
the special exhibitions, so if you enjoy an exhibition you may consider
attending the program. Also, check out the gift shop for titles of
books that might be helpful to you. You can probably find any of the
gift shop’s books at the library.
The Media Center [http://www.thejewishmuseum.org/site/pages/page.php?id=176]
was designed with kids like you in mind. The broadcast archive might
be of particular interest to you, no matter what you’re studying.
It reflects the huge involvement of Jews in the entertainment industry
and includes all types of shows. Although the shows deal heavily with
Jewish American culture, they also cover many other aspects of American
culture that may be relevant to your topic.
For further information about the Jewish Museum or questions about
student programs, please contact the Education Department at 212-423-3225.
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