The Jewish Museum Launches Newly Redesigned and Improved Website

New York, NY - The Jewish Museum, the preeminent U.S. institution devoted to exploring 4,000 years of art and culture, has expanded its presence on the Internet with a redesigned and improved website, www.thejewishmuseum.org. Enhancements feature a major expansion in coverage of works from the collection (600 artworks and artifacts are now available online), and new sections for educators and families with children. Key elements of the redesign include many more images, a completely updated look, and improved accessibility. The entire online experience has been reconfigured to make it richer in terms of content and easier to use. Now, someone who may never come to New York City to visit The Jewish Museum on Fifth Avenue and 92nd Street, can enjoy a full museum experience online.

Highlights

Images of six hundred works from the Museum’s renowned permanent collection — fine arts, archaeological artifacts, photographs, ceremonial art, and more — have been added to the site. The goal is to add another 2,000 images to the collection section of the website, ultimately having 2,600 works accessible online, or 10% of The Jewish Museum’s permanent collection, by December 2009.

Web visitors are able to see images of works not previously available. They can enjoy enhanced functionality including panning and zooming in on high quality images, creating an e-card, blogging an image, and seeing some objects in 3-D. More diverse search criteria are now possible. Site visitors can also search for works using an artist’s name, media (like photographs), geographical region (like North America), or themes such as marriage, Hanukkah, or worship and ritual: food and drink. Selected images can be explored as art in the collection or in different contexts based on larger ideas. There are now in-depth curatorial descriptions and observations regarding 435 works.

Images of works by such artists as Richard Avedon, Christian Boltanski, Marc Chagall, Max Ernst, Robert Indiana, Lotte Jacobi, Tobi Kahn, Deborah Kass, Alex Katz, William Kentridge, Anselm Kiefer, R.B. Kitaj, Annie Leibovitz, Sol LeWitt, Richard Meier, Robert Motherwell, Elie Nadelman, Alice Neel, Louise Nevelson, Moritz Daniel Oppenheim, Joel Otterson, Jules Pascin, Karim Rashid, Man Ray, Rembrandt van Rijn, Mark Rothko, George Segal, Moses Soyer, Raphael Soyer, Frank Stella, Alfred Stieglitz, Adam Tihany, Weegee, Wim Wenders, and Hannah Wilke are included, among others.

Educator Zone This new resource for teachers offers an incredibly rich array of information and educational materials. Educators are able to access information on: planning a visit with their classes, educator workshops and events, and new resources such as curriculum materials. Two curriculum guides — Jewish Holidays and The Holocaust are currently available, and two others — Immigration and Archaeology — will be added over the coming months. In each curriculum guide, an educator can click on one of ten collection images, accessing information about its history, function and related ideas. A host of useful tools and information (such as glossaries, timelines, and maps) accompany each object, as well as suggested activities to share with their students.

Kid Zone This new area focusing on families and kids aged 6 to 12 has a Flash feature called The Jewish Holidays Activity Book. It is an online version of a book the Museum published called Jewish Holidays All Year Round. Kid Zone also includes interactive games, details of selected artworks, fun facts, and activities.

Site Design The Jewish Museum’s website was originally launched in 1997. This version of the Museum’s website was designed by Cogapp, a Brighton, England-based consultancy, design and production company working with online and interactive media. The Cogapp team, led by Ben Rubinstein, worked closely in collaboration with a group of Jewish Museum staff and curators, overseeing user testing, surveys, strategic planning, development and implementation.

Sponsorship The Jewish Museum’s website is generously sponsored by Barbara and Louis Perlmutter and Mildred and George Weissman. Major support was also provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services and Rob Kaplan.