Release Date: March 17, 2017

April 2017 Programs at the Jewish Museum

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New York, NY, March 20, 2017 - The Jewish Museum’s 2017 slate of lectures, discussions, and events continues in April with a walking tour led by Kenneth Goldsmith and Jens Hoffmann and a concert by Vicky Chow of the Bang on Can All Stars. Other highlights include author talks with Charles Bronfman and Annette Libeskind Berkovits, a discussion with scholars Boris Groys and Michal Taussig, and an artist focus on Jennifer West.

Further program and ticket information is available by calling 212.423.3337 or online at TheJewishMuseum.org/calendar. All programs are at the Jewish Museum, Fifth Avenue and 92nd Street, Manhattan, unless otherwise indicated.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE – APRIL 2017

This Is How We Do It
Tuesday, April 4, 2 pm
Free with Museum Admission; RSVP Recommended

Shira Backer, Leon Levy Curatorial Associate, The Jewish Museum, leads a walkthrough of The Arcades: Contemporary Art and Walter Benjamin and speaks about the process of organizing the exhibition.

AM at the JM: Erica Baum
Thursday, April 6, 8 am at Think Coffee, Union Square, 123 Fourth Ave, NYC
Free

Artist Erica Baum will discuss her recent projects with Jens Hoffmann, Director of Special Exhibitions and Public Programs, The Jewish Museum. Baum’s work is included in The Arcades: Contemporary Art and Walter Benjamin.

Author Talk: Why Be Jewish?
Charles Bronfman and Ruth Andrew Ellenson
Thursday, April 6, 6:30 pm
Tickets: $15 General; $12 Students and Seniors; $10 Members

Edgar M. Bronfman’s last book, Why Be Jewish? is the late philanthropist's meditation on living a meaningful secular Jewish life. Inspired by his work on global Jewish causes, his brother Charles Bronfman will discuss his family's legacy and activism with Edgar's literary collaborator on the project, Ruth Andrew Ellenson, author of the National Jewish Book Award winning The Modern Jewish Girl’s Guide to Guilt.

Dialogue and Discourse: Boris Groys and Michael Taussig
The Gertrude and David Fogelson LectureThursday, April 13, 6:30 pm
Free with Pay-What-You-Wish Admission; RSVP Recommended

Boris Groys, Global Distinguished Professor of Russian and Slavic Studies, New York University, and Michal Taussig, Class of 1933 Professor of Anthropology, Columbia University, will discuss the relationship between critical theory, philosophy, anthropology, contemporary art, and the work of Walter Benjamin. The conversation will be moderated by Jens Hoffmann, Director of Special Exhibitions and Public Programs, the Jewish Museum, and curator of The Arcades: Contemporary Art and Walter Benjamin.

Artist Focus: Jennifer West
Thursday, April 20, 6:30 pm
Free with Pay-What-You-Wish Admission; RSVP Recommended

As part of the New York Jewish Film Festival’s off-season Artist Focus series, spotlighting artists whose work transcends the domains of visual arts and cinema, the Los Angeles–based artist Jennifer West will present a selection of new films considering the idea of the “remembered” film, including her new feature Film Title Poem, with Jens Hoffmann, Director of Special Exhibitions and Public Programs at the Jewish Museum.

Author Talk: Annette Libeskind Berkovits
The Saul and Gladys Gwirtzman Lecture
Monday, April 24, 11:30 am
Tickets: $15 General; $12 Students and Seniors; $10 Members

Author and poet Annette Libeskind Berkovits discusses In the Unlikeliest of Places: How Nachman Libeskind Survived the Nazis, Gulags, and Soviet Communism, the story of her father’s remarkable survival during World War II. This program is presented in commemoration of Yom HaShoah.

Bang on a Can: Performance by Vicky Chow
Thursday, April 27, 7:30 pm
Tickets: $18 General; $15 Students and Seniors; $12 Members and Bang on a Can List Members

Pianist and Bang on a Can All Stars member Vicky Chow will play Tristan Perich’s Surface Image for solo piano, a monumental performance-installation with 40-channel 1-bit electronics, echoing the shimmering quality of Paris’ 19th century arcades and inspired by Walter Benjamin’s renowned essay Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.

Walking Tour: New York Flânerie
Sunday, April 30, 3 pm
Tickets: $10 General Admission, $5 Students, Seniors, and Jewish Museum Members
- Space is limited, advance reservation required
In the spirit of Walter Benjamin’s concept of the Flâneur, the idle city stroller and boulevardier, exhibition curator Jens Hoffmann and author and poet Kenneth Goldsmith, who contributed annotations to the exhibition and catalogue, will lead a walking tour of their favorite Manhattan landmarks.

Gallery Talks: The Arcades: Contemporary Art and Walter Benjamin
Fridays, April 7, 21, and 28, 2pm
Free with Museum Admission – RSVP Recommended

Thematic explorations of select works of art in The Arcades, led by members of the Education Department:

The Activist Shopper
Fridays, April 7 and 28, 2 pm
A discussion of the intersection of capitalism and the public sphere in modern society, with a focus on Walter Benjamin's political ideas. Led by Chris Gartrell, Assistant Manager of Adult Programs.

Collecting Fragments
Friday, April 21, 2 pm
An exploration of fragmentation as a way of processing information, creating art, and understanding the world around us. Led by Nelly Silagy Benedek, Director of Education.

Support
Public programs are made possible by endowment support from the William Petschek Family, the Trustees of the Salo W. and Jeannette M. Baron Foundation, Barbara and Benjamin Zucker, the late William W. Hallo, the late Susanne Hallo Kalem, the late Ruth Hallo Landman, the Marshall M. Weinberg Fund, with additional support from Marshall M. Weinberg, the Rita J. and Stanley H. Kaplan Foundation, the Saul and Harriet M. Rothkopf Family Foundation, and Ellen Liman. Additional support is provided by Lorraine and Martin Beitler and through public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

About the Jewish Museum

Located on the famed Museum Mile, the Jewish Museum is one of the world's preeminent institutions devoted to exploring art and Jewish culture from ancient to contemporary, and offers intellectually engaging, educational, and provocative exhibitions and programs for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Location:        1109 Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street, New York City

Hours:             Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, 11am to 5:45pm; Thursday, 11am to 8pm; and Friday, 11am to 4pm.

Admission:      $15.00 for adults, $12.00 for senior citizens, $7.50 for students, free for visitors 18 and under and Jewish Museum members. Pay What You Wish on Thursdays from 5pm to 8pm. Free on Saturdays.

Information:   The public may call 212.423.3200 or visit TheJewishMuseum.org

Press contacts

Daniela Stigh and Alex Wittenberg
The Jewish Museum
212.423.3271
dstigh@thejm.org
awittenberg@thejm.org
pressoffice@thejm.org (general inquiries)