Mazel tov to Mirjam Wenzel, director of the Jewish Museum Frankfurt, who has been elected Chair of the Board of the Association of European Jewish Museums (AEJM).
She takes over from Emile Schrijver, head of the Jewish Cultural Quarter in Amsterdam, who leaves the post after seven years.
Mirjam is the author and co-editor of books and catalogues on German-Jewish art and cultural history. She also works as a curator and has developed several international exhibitions and teaches at Goethe-University Frankfurt.
Mirjam, who had been serving on the board, was elected chair at this month’s annual AEJM conference, held at the new new Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam.
Newly elected board members include Petra Katzenstein from the Jewish Cultural Quarter Amsterdam, Sharon Reichel from the National Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah (MEIS), and Michaela Sidenberg from the Jewish Museum in Prague.
The AEJM conference took place June 16-18. Its theme was “From Crisis to Creativity: Resilience and Renewal in Jewish Museums,” focusing on the role and function of Jewish museums in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack and the ongoing war and its fallout.
Dealing with crisis because much has changed in the work of Jewish museums since October 7, 2023, both intentionally and unintentionally. The desire of Jewish museums to address the current situation, to show solidarity, and to make an educational contribution has also changed as a result of last year’s terrorist attack by Hamas and the subsequent outbreak of war. Since then, Jewish museums have experienced a new dimension of politicization and new challenges and hostilities, but also rising expectations due to a growing demand for education on anti-Semitism and the Shoah as a result of the recognition of a widespread anti-Semitic ideology that is experiencing a dramatic resurgence. The fundamental questions of how to develop the proper coping mechanisms and create a resilient environment within our community are important.
2 comments on “Mirjam Wenzel, Director of the Jewish Museum Frankfurt is the new Chair of the Board of the AEJM”
It would be great to know if any Museums are open to readings or performances of Jewish theatre that relates to Jewish history.
http://www.juliapascal.org
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Yes, I should like to know that. I want to revive plays written by Emil Bernhard (Cohn) .
Deborah Horner
Dhplanning@ gmail.com