The Jewish Museum presents its annual Hanukkah Family Day, a fun-filled day of activities, on Sunday, December 18 from noon to 4pm.  Kids can construct sculptural Hanukkah menorahs with funky found objects in a huge drop-in art workshop, dance to the music of ShirLaLa, see the Hanukkah story brought to life through a drawing performance by Jeff Hopkins, and explore the Museum’s world-famous collection of Hanukkah lamps.

The interdisciplinary studio of Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) is the exhibition designer for the first U.S. exhibition focused on French designer and architect Pierre Chareau (1883-1950). Pierre Chareau: Modern Architecture and Design will be presented by the Jewish Museum from November 4, 2016 through March 26, 2017.  Through various forms of technology – video projections, virtual reality, digital installations, and film – used within the exhibition galleries, DS+R has created atmospheric scenes that convey imagined functional and social contexts for Chareau’s work.

The Jewish Museum continues its fall 2016 slate of lectures, discussions, and events in November with Wish You Were Here: Golda Meir portrayed by award-winning actress Tovah Feldshuh, in conversation with the Jewish Museum's Jens Hoffmann; and noted architect and critic Kenneth Frampton discussing the Maison de Verre (The Glass House), Pierre Chareau's signature building in Paris.  Other highlights include a concert by Pauline Oliveros as part of the Museum's ongoing partnership with Bang on a Can; a lecture by curator Norman Kleeblatt on the legacy of Jewish patronage in portraiture; and gallery discussions on specific themes and topics related to current exhibitions.

The kids rock band Alex & the Kaleidoscope will perform at the Jewish Museum on Sunday, November 20 at 11:30 am. Emmy Award-winning children’s entertainer Alex Mitnick and his group of fun-loving musicians have been captivating families with their fresh approach to music for over a decade. "Country and island rhythms, a pop bounce, hand-clapping gospel, and confidence-boosting message” says the Parents’ Choice Foundation, “fuel Alex Mitnick’s albums.” The audience will sing, dance and improvise with the band, actively participating in the concert. Songs like "Insect Tourists", "Crocodile" and "Dino Dig" teach us fun facts about the world around us, and tunes like "Mama's In The Kitchen", "Love Is All It Takes" and "Tell Me A Story" are sure to bring families together in a joyous moment of musical magic. 

As the latest iteration of the series Using Walls, Floors, and Ceilings, which brings contemporary art to the Jewish Museum’s Skirball Lobby; a new work by Los Angeles-based artist Alex Israel will be on view from November 4, 2016 through April 23, 2017. Self-Portrait (Mom) (2016) is a painting of the artist’s mother made within an outsize silhouette of his head in profile. It was executed in the traditional Hollywood scenic style, a combination of airbrush and brushwork. Israel’s Self-Portrait first appeared in 2012 as the logo for his online talk show AS IT LAYS, and subsequently as a series of color studies on fiberglass panels.

The Jewish Museum will present the first U.S. exhibition focused on French designer and architect Pierre Chareau (1883-1950) from November 4, 2016 through March 26, 2017.  Showcasing rare furniture, lighting fixtures, and interiors, as well as designs for the extraordinary Maison de Verre, the glass house completed in Paris in 1932, Pierre Chareau: Modern Architecture and Design will bring together over 180 rarely-seen works from major public and private collections in Europe and the United States. It will also address Chareau’s life and work in the New York area, after he left Paris during the German occupation of the city, including the house he designed for Robert Motherwell in 1947 in East Hampton, Long Island. In his day Chareau was celebrated as a designer of exquisite furniture and stylish interiors, which he displayed at the annual salons of decorative art. Both facets of his creative life are part of a single vision explored in the exhibition.

On Thursday, November 10, 2016 at 7:30pm, Bang on a Can and the Jewish Museum will present the second concert of their 2016-2017 concert season featuring seminal American composer Pauline Oliveros. Accompanying the Jewish Museum’s exhibition, Take Me (I’m Yours), the concert will feature Oliveros in The Sound of Meditation on V-Accordion, an instrument that produces both accordion and orchestral sounds. Like the exhibition, the concert also blurs the boundary between the performer and the audience by asking the listener to participate in the making of music.

In conjunction with its new exhibition, John Singer Sargent’s Mrs. Carl Meyer and Her Children, the Jewish Museum will present a series of public programs, including a lecture by scholar Tessa Murdoch, great-granddaughter of Adèle Meyer, subject of Sargent’s bravura painting, on January 26; and a conversation with exhibition co-curator Norman Kleeblatt and artist Kathleen Gilje on October 27.  Other highlights include daytime lectures by Norman Kleeblatt on November 29 and Lucy H. Partman on January 31, and a three-part painting workshop for adults on October 13, 20, and 27.

Grammy-nominated illustrator and songwriter Morgan Taylor brings the whimsical animations and contagious melodies of Gustafer Yellowgold to the Jewish Museum for a family performance on Sunday, October 16 at 11:30 am.  Taylor combines live images and music in what The New York Times calls “a cross between Yellow Submarine and Dr. Seuss.” The program features tunes about the Earth, the Sun and nature in celebration of the holiday of Sukkot.

In conjunction with its new exhibition, Take Me (I’m Yours), the Jewish Museum will present a series of public programs, including a lecture by noted curator Nicolas Bourriaud on September 29, and a conversation with artist Christian Boltanski, who mounted the exhibition in its original form in 1995 (with Hans Ulrich Obrist), exhibition co-curator Jens Hoffmann on December 15.  Other highlights include discussions with exhibition artists Rachel Rose and Haim Steinbach on September 22 and Uri Aran and Ian Cheng on January 19; and a concert with Pauline Oliveros on November 10.

The kids indie rock band Josh & The Jamtones will perform at the Jewish Museum on Sunday, October 9 at 11:30 am. Fronted by singer/songwriter Josh Shriber, their interactive concerts get crowds of any age moving their bodies and singing along. Josh seamlessly blends roots/reggae/ska stylings, feel-good pop, folk punk, country ballads, New Orleans-style street music and kid-friendly improv comedy.  The concert will feature songs from The Jamtones’ critically-acclaimed family records, Rocksteady and Jump Up! as well as tunes in celebration of the fall Jewish holidays from the album, Jammin with Jew Vol 1 & 2.

The FunkeyMonkeys return to the Jewish Museum with a concert for families on Sunday, September 25 at 11:30 am.   Described as “Seinfeld meets the Wiggles,” this uniquely hip eight-member band incorporates funny sketches and improvised bits, along with their special brand of funky kid's music, ranging from driving afrobeat to ethereal ballads.  The performance will feature tunes from their albums Mustache, Tastes Like Chicken, Sing Dance Underpants, and Jewish FunkeyMonkeys, including hits related to the Jewish fall holidays with a special Monkeys twist.  During the performance, the Monkeys will also explore connections between art and music as audience members can come on stage to draw with the band.