Days Beyond Time – Artist meets testimony

Curator: Yossi Veissid
Creators: Maya and Gal Rave
Artists: Amit Cabessa, Eran Webber, Geva Alon, Iddo Markus, Izabella Volovnik, Rotem Amizur, Amir Shefet, Milli Barzilai, Shahar Sivan, Anat Or Magal, Moran Zilberberg, Noa Zamir, and Aya Steigman

A multidisciplinary art project that introduces young Israeli artists, third generation to the Holocaust, to testimonies of survivors of Ghetto Theresienstadt.

This project introduced young Israeli artists, third generation to the Holocaust, to testimonies of Holocaust survivors, and included the creative process inspired by the testimonies.

We gathered the testimonies of people who had survived Ghetto Theresienstadt, edited them into a focused, powerful, and meaningful experience, formed an encounter between these testimonies and artists from different fields (painting, sculpture, dance, photography, etc.), and transformed the testimonies into works of art.

The testimonies are a collection of monologues by people in their twilight years. Our wish is to give continuity to their stories, memories, and introspection, to give them life through the power of art.

Holocaust survivors participating in the project: the late Petr Lang, Vera Idan, Zvi Cohen, the late Maxi Livni, Talma Segal, Alisa Tennenbaum, Vera Meisels, the late Ruth Meissner, Eva Erben, Hanka Drori, the late Hana Malka, and Dita Kraus

• On January 27, 2022, International Holocaust Memorial Day, the exhibition was first displayed at the Art & About gallery in Emek Hefer.
• From April to May 2022 the exhibition was displayed at the Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium
• From September to December 2022 the exhibition was on display at the Kimron Hall in Emek Hamaayanot
• From January to February 2023 the exhibition was on display in Geneva at the D10 Art Space, at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Israeli Embassy in Switzerland, and it was shown to members of the UN in a prestigious event marking International Holocaust Memorial Day.
• From June to September 2023 the exhibition was on display in Siegen at the Aktives Museum Südwestfalen. The museum is located on the former site of the city’s synagogue, which was completely destroyed on Kristallnacht. This opportunity was facilitated through the twinning of the Siegen-Wittgenstein district in Germany and Emek Hefer, a collaboration that is celebrating its 50th anniversary, marking many years of a relationship symbolizing the ability to connect despite the terrible past on a joint foundation of peace and compassion.
• During the months when the exhibition was on display it was viewed by thousands of teens and adults who focused, among other things, on the issue of shaping remembrance of the Holocaust.

Articles:

Link to a National Radio podcast on the exhibition in Geneva: https://www.rts.ch/audio-podcast/2023/audio/l-art-pour-se-souvenir-de-la-shoah-25902116.html

Article on the exhibition in Le Temps: https://www.letemps.ch/node/1358771

Article on the exhibition in Tribune de Genève: https://www.tdg.ch/douze-uvres-inspirees-des-souvenirs-de-survivants-de-la-shoah-163855225838

Article in Yediot Aharonoth: https://www.tdg.ch/douze-uvres-inspirees-des-souvenirs-de-survivants-de-la-shoah-163855225838

Article in the Jerusalem Post: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/culture/article-694055

Article in Ha’aretz: https://www.haaretz.co.il/gallery/art/artreview/2022-04-27/ty-article-magazine/.premium/00000180-69c4-d030-a3cc-79e5a9410000

Report in the “Cultural Agent” television program: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=239990291657416

Esti Segal, a visitor to the exhibition: “Art is a drug that helps us forget, but it is also the drug of life. My experience today, at ‘Days Beyond Time – Artist Meet Testimony’, an event that cannot be reduced to the term ‘exhibition’, is one of the strongest I have ever experienced”.

A visitor to the exhibition said: “I remain wordless and breathless… I am very moved. I don’t remember when I last had such an experience. Well done!”

Ambassador Meirav Eilon Shahar: “Preserving the memory of the Holocaust is more important now than ever, considering the increase in antisemitism around the world. Here at the UN organizations in Geneva we will continue to take every opportunity to voice this message, not only on International Holocaust Memorial Day. We must ensure that the phrase ‘never again’ remains on the declarative level. Therefore, we have chosen to display this special exhibition that connects past and present, to demonstrate at the UN, versus all countries of the world, what should never be forgotten”.