Musée Juif de Belgique

The Jewish Museum of Belgium invites you to the closing of the exhibition “Passage. Textile & Rituals” !

By contextually reinterpreting the “Supra” ritual, Zinaïda Tchelidze brings together a plurality of voices through the art of the banquet in Georgian tradition.

The artist is interested in the phenomenon of social gatherings and what they reveal when taken out of their usual context. By provoking the encounter between mythology, ancestral ceremony and the contemporary world, she seeks to problematize codes in cultural traditions. She invents a collaborative, performative ritual table to explore the idea of hospitality in its various forms, depending on the space-time and social environment in which it is embedded.

For this performance, the artist creates a “feast tablecloth” and invites performers who are unfamiliar with this tradition. They take up the rite of toasting with “unique crockery”, i.e. vessels-sculptures specially made by Georgian artists and craftsmen of different generations according to their state of mind.

Waiting for the performers to activate them, these unique pieces are displayed in a china cabinet within the exhibition space.

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This is part of the ” Laboratory of Rituals ” performance cycle.

At the heart of ” Laboratory of Rituals “, four performance artists, Hilal Aydoğdu, David Bernstein, Barbara Salomé Felgenhauer and Zinaïda Tchelidze, are committed to re-enchanting the world through the construction of new mythologies that touch and inspire them.

In this artistic laboratory, these artists explore the depths of the collective imagination, venturing into the recesses of history, culture and tradition. They invite us to plunge into their artistic universes, to cross passages between the visible and invisible worlds, to discover new ways of being and understanding the world.

The ” Laboratory of Rituals ” is much more than just an exhibition. It’s a space for artistic exploration, where cross-cultural performers meet, question and share their visions of the world. It’s a call for reflection, wonder and the creation of new mythologies that allow us to re-enchant our existence.

Program :

15:30 – Doors open

16:00 – 18:00 : Performance by ZinaÏda Tchelidze – To your arrival and our welcome

19:00 : Drink & Buffet

20:30 : Doors close

Pay what you can (recommended price €6)

Kids’ workshop around our “PASSAGE” exhibition: fabrics tell stories! Let’s explore them!

Have you ever wondered where the patterns that decorate the fabrics in your home or on your clothes come from? And how are their colors made? During this week’s workshop, we’ll explore the vast history of textile colors and patterns, and what they say about us and the world we live in. An opportunity, for once, to create our own colors from our environment (using dye plants from wasteland, kitchen scraps, etc.), and to reinject meaning into the images that adorn our fabrics.

The workshop will be conducted in French by Amandine Brun Sauvant, a textile designer trained at the Beaux-Arts of Clermont-Ferrand and La Cambre.

When? From 8 to 12 July 2024, 10am to 5pm.
Who is it for? Children aged 9 to 12
Price: €90 for the workshop (€70 with Pass Cultuur Marolles)

LIMITED PLACES (max 10 children)

To register, please contact edu@mjb-jmb.org

Amandine Brun Sauvant is a textile designer trained at the Beaux-arts in Clermont-Ferrand and at La Cambre.

She discovered vegetable dyeing in Malaysia in 2016, where she learned to draw colors exclusively from local plants from the weavers of Rumah Gareh.

Back in Brussels, she deepened her apprenticeship with Charlotte Marembert and Michel Garcia, never to leave this healthier and, above all, living color tool. Initially drawn to the history of printed textiles, from Indians to digital prints, she explores, through weaving, printing and resist dyeing, how a woven surface can present different degrees of legibility, meaning and color.

Performance : David Bernstein – Even if it’s not true, it’s well found – 6.06 from 6pm

The title Even if it’s not true, it’s well found is a literal translation of the Italian expression Se non e vero, e ben trovato – meaning that even though a story might be made up, it is still worth telling. The work consists of a series of abstract sculptures that have had fictional stories written about them. These stories were generated from associations while looking at the artworks, and in that way, they reveal another “truth” about the object.

Three of these sculptures are displayed within the museum with accompanying stories, told during the performance. Each sculpture is made of different materials – various kinds of wood, brass, and steel – to allow for different tactile experiences. The sculptures’ shapes are inspired by ancestral ritual instruments and modern industrial design objects. This work aims to look at the power of imagination to give different readings to the same object. It emphasizes the queerness of objects, celebrating the idea that one thing can be several things at once.

This event is part of the “Laboratory of Rituals” performance cycle.

At the heart of the Laboratory of Rituals project, four performance artists – Hilal Aydoğdu, David Bernstein, Barbara Salomé Felgenhauer et Zinaïda Tchelidze – are committed to creating new mythologies that re-enchant the world.

In this artistic laboratory, these artists explore the depths of the collective imagination, venturing into the meanders of history, culture and tradition. They invite us to plunge into their artistic universes, to cross passages between the visible and invisible worlds, in order to discover new perspectives and new understandings of the world.

The Laboratory of Rituals is more than just an exhibition. It’s a space for artistic exploration, where cross-cultural performers meet, question and share their worldviews. It’s a call for reflection and wonder, as well as the creation of new mythologies that revive our existence.

Program :
6:00pm – Doors open
6:30pm to 7:30pm : Performance “Even if it’s not true, it’s well found” by David Bernstein
7:30pm – Drink
8:30pm – Doors close

Price : Pay what you can (Recommended price 6€)

The body of the artist proposes itself as a living altar, offered for a moment of reflection, meditation, prayer, and request, not for a god or saint, but for the world.

In the Christian religion, lighting a candle opens one’s heart to God and thus raises a prayer towards him. It is also a way of expressing one’s attachment to a saint in particular by making a request or even thanking him. An offering accompanies this approach.

Here, the ritual is proposed to allow oneself to express their concern, fear, and sorrow for the world – it is a way of reacting to the environmental despair that we are currently experiencing.

This performance is inspired both by the artist’s rituals in a women’s circle to celebrate, among other things, the solstices and equinoxes, and Joanna Macy’s essay, “Acting with Environmental Despair” which asks the question: “Can we recognize our sorrow for the world and live with it in a way that affirms our existence and frees our power to act?”

A year ago, the first version of this performance was presented during the Trouble Festival. In this context, more than sixty sorrows were laid at the foot of the altar. These anonymous sorrows will be engraved next to each other on one of the walls of the exhibition, during several one-off sessions between April 11 and September 1.

Performance from 6:30 pm

Barbara Salomé Felgenhauer (1992, Huy, Belgium) lives and works in Brussels. A multidisciplinary artist, her practice covers photography, film, performance, and installation. The question of narrative and the power of words and ideas runs through her work. She uses storytelling as an experience of emancipation and empowerment from gender norms and stereotypes and as a creative force of the universe to induce new relationships to worlds.

She graduated from the photography workshop at ESA Saint-Luc in Liège in 2013 and from ENSAV La Cambre in Brussels in 2022. She obtained her master’s degree with Grand Distinction and the Boghossian Foundation Prize 2022 with her project Terrapolis.

Discussion between Luc Benhamou and Sonia Wieder-Atherton and musical moments

Chantal Akerman was born in Brussels in 1950. Her parents, originally from Poland, had settled in Belgium in the 1930s. During the war, part of her family suffered deportation and were murdered in Auschwitz. The ensuing silence guided both her work as a filmmaker and her life as a woman.

Sonia Wieder-Atherton and Luc Benhamou wish to share a moment of exchange by questioning Chantal Akerman’s relationship with Judaism. Some of the possible approaches are through her work, but also through her positions on several issues, her relationship to biblical texts and to transmission. Music will also be present through the voice of Sonia Wieder-Atherton’s cello.

LUC BENHAMOU :

Born in Paris in 1959, Luc Benhamou studied cinematography at the Insas in Brussels. He subsequently worked as a cinematographer, authored short films and studied Judaism. He framed and/or lit all Chantal Akerman’s films between 1983 and 1988, among these the notables Les Années 80 (1983) L’homme à la valise (1983), Un jour Pina a demandé (1983), J’ai faim, j’ai froid (1984), Family Business (1984), Golden eighties (1984), Letters Home (1986), Histoires d’Amérique (1988).

SONIA WIEDER-ATHERTON :

Cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton studied at the Paris Conservatoire, then went on studying further with Natalia Chakhovskaya at the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire in Moscow. She returned home at the age of 25, where she met Chantal Akerman. Their work and personal relation were set to last forever. Their worlds came together in film scores and stage creations. Chantal Akerman also directed several films with SWA, who performed works ranging from Monteverdi to Dutilleux. Their collaboration on the music for “Histoires d’Amérique” gave rise to a recording of liturgical Jewish chants for cello and piano.

Program:

6 pm doors open

6:30 pm start of discussion (approx. 1h30)

8 p.m. end (no drinks)

Credit: Collections CINEMATEK – © Fondation Chantal Akerman

Celebrate Pesach with us!

We’re delighted to invite you to a one-day Pesach celebration on April 14 at 3pm.
Pesach, also known as Passover, is one of Judaism’s three pilgrimage holidays, commemorating the exodus of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt according to the Torah’s Book of Exodus. The holiday evokes the notion of renewal, of freedom, and is honored through several rituals, including the consumption of unleavened bread (matza) and the celebration of the Passover meal.

Program :

Matzot-making workshop for children: Our young participants will have the opportunity to take part in a Matza bread-making workshop. They’ll have the opportunity to discover the importance of this ancestral tradition by getting their hands dirty.

Guided tour of the “Passage – Textiles & Ritual” exhibition: We also invite you to a guided tour of our “Passage – Textiles & Ritual” exhibition, a fascinating exploration of Jewish textiles and rituals.

This event is organized in collaboration with the European Jewish Community Centre (EJCC).

As part of NOCTURNES, the third “Passage” tour will open on April 11 in our Project Space, inviting you to explore the contemporary resurgence of beliefs and rituals through a program of unique performances.

In Turkish culture, when you welcome someone, you give them your bed, your home. Misafirperverlik means «hospitality » in Turkish. The term has Arabic roots: «musafir», «safar», which also means «hunger» and «he or she who goes on an expedition, who goes far away». And Persian roots: «parvar», meaning «to feed, to bring up, to educate». Misafirperver therefore means «he or she
who feeds his or her guest».

The performance is two-fold: «the preparation» and «the meal».
Duration: 2 h00.

Hilal Aydoğdu (1998, Liège), holds a Master’s degree in drawing from the Académie des Beaux-Arts de Liège and has practiced performance art for several years, in depth at La Cambre.

Hilal questions the place of women in a man’s world. She proposes to apprehend the devices that work to establish a deleterious hegemony – that of patriarchy – mainly through culture, by exploring the morbid lexicon of the values and injunctions it conveys: honor, virginity, obedience. Performance and installation allow her words to take shape; by breaking the boundaries between the object and
its flesh, by playing with what can be forced together, she attempts to suggest imbalance, to let the union give rise to vertigo, and vertigo to fall.

She aims to confront the order that strikes in the name of ideals that damage women with the consequences of its reign, reflecting back to it the horror and pain they generate.

Program :

guided tour of the “Passage” exhibition at 6pm (FR)
guided tour of the “Passage” exhibition at 6:30pm (NL)
Performance Misafirperver by Hilal Aydoğdu from 6 pm to 8 pm (FR,NL,EN)

For bookings –> via the Nocturnes website (ticket sales open on March 25)

At the heart of the Laboratory of Rituals project, four performance artists – Hilal Aydoğdu, David Bernstein, Barbara Salomé Felgenhauer et Zinaïda Tchelidze – are committed to creating new mythologies that re-enchant the world.

In this artistic laboratory, these artists explore the depths of the collective imagination, venturing into the meanders of history, culture and tradition. They invite us to plunge into their artistic universes, to cross passages between the visible and invisible worlds, in order to discover new perspectives and new understandings of the world.

Through their performances, these artists offer us intense moments where the sacred and the profane meet, where emotions blossom and questions multiply. They open doors to sensory and intellectual experiences, inviting us to reflect on our own relationship with beliefs, myths and rituals.

The Laboratory of Rituals is more than just an exhibition. It’s a space for artistic exploration, where cross-cultural performers meet, question and share their worldviews. It’s a call for reflection and wonder, as well as the creation of new mythologies that revive our existence.

The Laboratory of Rituals will open on April 11 in our Project Space and invites you to explore the contemporary resurgence of beliefs and rites through a program of unique performances. The first performance will take place as part of the Nocturnes event.

Program :

Misafirperver – Hilal Aydoğdu – 11.04.2024

La Chapelle des peines pour le monde – Barbara Salomé Felgenhauer – 22.05.2024

Even if it’s not true, it’s well found – David Bernstein – 6.06.2024

To your arrival and our welcome – Zinaïda Tchelidze – 1.09.2024

On the occasion of INTERNATIONAL ROMA DAY, the Jewish Museum of Belgium is pleased to invite you to an event dedicated to celebrating Roma culture and raising awareness of anti-Roma discrimination.
In partnership with ESMA, Carrefour des Cultures:

ESMA-CC is an association that promotes and supports artists, cultural creations and music from the Balkans and Roma, with the aim of encouraging encounters, debate and dialogue between groups, communities and cultural players in civil society.

Program

3:30 pm: Conference: Carol Silverman (Eng – Fr)
4:45 pm: Q&A
5:00 pm: Break
5:30 p.m.: Concerts
6:30 pm: Drink of friendship
Price
Price: 7 euros on site
Free for students

Free event

Conference

Historical and cultural contexts of klezmer and Balkan Romani music: comparisons and contrasts
Jews and Roma are often considered Europe’s two most emblematic minority groups. Both communities have greatly enriched the culture and arts of Eastern Europe, while facing historical discrimination, including the Nazi genocide. This illustrated lecture explores the cultural links and differences between Jews and Roma in Eastern Europe. Focusing on music, we will examine the professional role of klezmer and Roma musicians, as well as the context of their repertoire and performances in ritual and family life. Today, Balkan Romani music is not only a dynamic community asset, but also a global musical product; klezmer is also being creatively revitalized and recast. At the same time, anti-Semitism and anti-Gypsyism are on the rise. In these difficult times, music can serve as a tool in the fight against neo-nationalism and xenophobia.

Carol Silverman

Carol Silverman has been interested in Balkan music and culture for over forty years as a researcher, teacher, artist and activist. Professor Emerita of Cultural Anthropology and Folklore at the University of Oregon, she has taught Jewish and Balkan folklore, focusing on music, festivals, cultural policy and human rights issue

Concerts

ESMA Next Generation Band
Vilmos Csikos, Anette Dukane Csikos, Duka Vilmos
The Klezmer Society

Exhibition

Ceija Stojka

Ceija Stojka was born in Austria in 1933, the fifth of six children in a family of Roma horse traders. Deported at the age of ten with her mother Sidonie and other family members, she survived three concentration camps: Auschwitz-Birkenau, Ravensbrück and Bergen-Belsen. 

It was only forty-five years later, in 1988, at the age of fifty-five, that she felt the need and the necessity to talk about it; she embarked on a fantastic work of remembrance and, despite being considered illiterate, wrote several poignant books, in a poetic and highly personal style, which made her the first Roma woman survivor of the death camps to bear witness to her concentration camp experience, against oblivion and denial, against the prevailing racism. 

SKINFOLD is a durational performance in which bodies move alongside each other in reciprocal recognition, leaning towards and exploring internalised landscapes in an attempt of soft transformations.

Tending to an embodied habitat, where boundaries of flesh and body image continuously blur, the performers allow themselves to shift their representational features and ways of bodily perceptions. What does it mean to inhabit a body? This body?

These strategies for a utopian and transformative practice stem from an ongoing choreographic research initiated by Abigail Aleksander and Mary Szydlowska. Presented for the first time in the context of Shoshana Walfish’s exhibition, SKINFOLD responds and converses with Walfish’s paintings series Illusive Bodies; where representation and corporealities are put into interpretational play.

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Abigail Aleksander and Mary Szydlowska are performers & choreographers based in Brussels. They met in 2019 during their respective studies at P.A.R.T.S. and have been engaged in each other’s work since. SKINFOLD is their first performance collaboration.

Abigail Aleksander works as a performer and collaborator with a variety of art makers including: Philipp Gehmacher, Michiel Vandevelde, Jan Martens and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. She began her dance training in London before graduating with a BA from P.A.R.T.S in 2022. SKINFOLD is her first choreographic work.

Mary Szydlowska’s practice varies between movement, installation and sculptural objects. Since graduating from MA STUDIOS programme at P.A.R.T.S, they’ve been making solo performances touching upon the notions of peripheral, withdrawn and invisible phenomena. Their work has been supported and presented by Beursschwourburg, IKOB Museum, Brussels Gallery Weekend, Zachęta National Gallery in Warsaw, workspacebrussels, wp zimmer, CC Strombeek and others.

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Program :
1:30pm – Doors open
2pm to 5pm – SKINFOLD performance
5:15pm – Artist talk moderated by Persis Bekkering
6:30pm – Doors close

*The performance lasts for three hours, the audience can come, go and return freely. To avoid overcrowding, the performance can host 15 guests at one time, you may need to wait if this number is exceeded.

Credits:

Concept, choreography, performance Abigail Aleksander / Mary Szydlowska Music composition, Hannah Todt Special thanks to Shoshana Walfish, PARTS, Steven De Belder, Steven Peeters.

This project is supported by the Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie (VGC).

Category: Event