Conference Report – Annual Conference 2024

From June 16 – 18, 2024, the Annual Conference of the Association of European Jewish Museums took place at the newly opened National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam.

Under the title “From Crisis to Creativity. Resilience and Renewal in Jewish Museums.” almost 100 participants – including representatives from 38 AEJM member museums – exchanged views on current topics and developments over three days. At the end of the conference, the AEJM Annual General Meeting was held, at which Mirjam Wenzel (director of the Jewish Museum Frankfurt) was elected as the new Chair of the Board, succeeding Emile Schrijver (general director of the Jewish Cultural Quarter Amsterdam). Sharon Reichel (curator at the National Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah) and Michaela Sidenberg (chief curator and deputy director of the Jewish Museum of Prague) were elected as new board members.

Day I

Before the conference, visitors could visit the National Holocaust Museums, which opened in March after several years of construction and development. The museum’s chief curator, Annemiek Gringold, introduced the conference participants to the museum’s concept and exhibition.

The conference was opened by Emile Schrijver, Director of the Jewish Cultural Quarter Amsterdam (JCK) and Chair of the Board of the AEJM. After more than seven years as Chair of the Board, Schrijver gave his farewell speech as chair of the board of the Association of the AEJM. Initially, he remembered Bernhard Purin (sel. A.), who left us unexpectedly and suddenly this year. As a long-standing member of the AEJM, former Chair of the Board, and shaping figure in European Jewish museums, he will leave a big gap. In his speech, Schrijver emphasized the dimensions that the politicization of Jewish museums can take on, especially these days in times of ongoing crisis and war in the Middle East. Emile further emphasized the importance of networking and exchange among museums to develop resilient strategies.
The first day of the conference was dedicated to a topic that is currently of the utmost importance for all Jewish museums: how to deal with increasing politicization, which was already raised in Emile Schrijver’s speech.

Under the title “Creating Resilient Jewish Museums in a Politicized World,” Emile Schrijver, Pascale Falek, Policy officer at the office of the EU coordinator on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life, and Jakub Wozniak, head of communication at the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, discussed the current situation and developments under the moderation of Nina Siegal, journalist at The New York Times. The panel ended with many open questions and the clear conclusion that strong programs and partnerships are needed to meet the increasingly complex demands on Jewish museums.
A professional session was dedicated to dealing with crises within one’s institution. Jaïr Stranders, artistic director of the Na de Dam Theater, gave a keynote speech describing how he accompanied a project on this topic at the JCK. Following the keynote, the conference participants were divided into groups and were able to discuss the topic. The discussions were based on discussion templates provided by Stranders.

The first day ended with a get-together in the event hall of the National Holocaust Museum.

Day II

The second day of the conference began with the panel “Shaping stories behind the creation of the National Holocaust Museum”. Here, people involved in creating the museum gave insights into various areas.

– Design: Boaz Bar-Adon, senior spatial designer, OPERA Amsterdam
– Communication strategy: Mick Groeneveld, freelance marketing & communication coordinator
– Terminology choices: Annemiek Gringold, chief curator & project manager, Hollandsche – Schouwburg & National Holocaust Museum Amsterdam Education: Julia Sarbo, senior educator, National Holocaust Museum Amsterdam

Under the title “Curating stories on looted art and restitution,” Mara Lagerweij, provenance specialist, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and guest curator of “Looted” at the Jewish Cultural Quarter Amsterdam and Julie-Marthe Cohen, curator of cultural history, Jewish Cultural Quarter Amsterdam gave a joint keynote speech on the joint exhibition “Looted” by the Jewish Cultural Quarter Amsterdam and the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, which is on display at the National Holocaust Museum Amsterdam until October 27.

The keynotes were followed by a round table talk in which Felicitas Heimann-Jelinek, freelance Judaic scholar, art historian, curator and museum consultant, xhibit.at and Michaela Sidenberg, deputy director, Jewish Museum in Prague, discussed international perspectives on looted art and restitution in a discussion moderated by Kathrin Pieren. The main focus was on the question of synergy effects and commonalities and handling in the fields of Nazi-looted property and objects looted in the context of colonialism.

Of particular importance for this year’s conference were two keynotes and a subsequent short discussion moderated by Mats Tangestuen, academic director, Oslo Jewish Museum and member of the AEJM Board. Michal Houminer, curator, Museum of the Jewish People (ANU) and Rachel Sarfati, The-Israel-Museum, spoke in moving presentations about the current situation, the changing demands and ways to continue museum work and exhibition in the current situation in Israel. A contribution to the exhibition entitled “October 7.” of the ANU Museum in Tel Aviv can be found on our website and social media channels.

The two presentations were followed by a workshop session, during which participants participated in peer-led workshops on “Jewish Museums’ Reactions to October 7, 2023.” The workshops were dedicated to Management, Exhibitions, Programs, and Communication.

The second day wrapped up with a project presentation of the Lost & Found Plattoform on Jewish ceremonial objects. Felicitas Heimann Jelinek, Michaela Feurstein Prasser, freelance Judaic scholar, art scholar curator and museum consultant, xhibit.at and Julie Marthe Cohen, curator of cultural history, JCK presented their work on the new platform together with Peter Tessel, search designer, Spinque.
At the end of the program, on the first day, all conference participants were invited to end the evening with a candlelight concert at the Portugese Synagogue with a performance by the Job Chajes Sextet.

Day III

The last day of the conference focused on the educational work of Jewish museums. It started with the presentation of new developments of the I Ask method, in which Judith Whitlau, museum educator, JCK, Petra Katzenstein, manager Jewish Museum junior, JCK and Irith Koster, organizational psychologist and coach, TACTadviseurs, gave the conference participants an insight into the renowned concept during a participatory presentation.

In the last professional session of the conference, JCK colleagues presented six workshops on their museum’s various educational offerings and programs.
The conference’s final panel was titled “Strengthening Connections between Jewish Museums and their local communities.” In keeping with the title, Nisya Isman Allovi, director, Jewish Museum of Turkish Jews and AEJM board member, who moderated the round table talk, focused on how Jewish museums should conduct outreach to the urban community and how they should work with local communities in a talk with Barbara Cuglietta, director Jewish museum Brussels, Mirjam Wenzel, director, Jewish Museum Frankfurt and AEJM board member and Joanna Fikus, head of exhibitions at the Museum of Polish Jewish (POLIN).

As in previous years, the conference ended with a feedback and reflection session, during which feedback was gathered from the conference participants in plenary.