With works reaching their halfway point, the Museum will open in the heart of the old Jewish quarter, of which one part became the Warsaw ghetto in 1940. Far from resembling a traditional museum, it may be considered a Museum of Life – a multimedia narrative museum and cultural centre that gives an entirely new perspective on Jewish presence on Polish soil, one that does not revolve solely around the Holocaust. Entering into the last stage of design before the Museum, the plans for the core exhibition, which will occupy 4,000 of the 12,800 m2 of useable space, have been completed. Featuring drawings, photographs, films, installations with audio recordings, and objects of everyday use the core exhibition will be a presentation of 1000 years of history of Jewish history, culture and religion.
In its entirety an interactive and emotional journey through time, the exhibition will be divided into eight galleries, each presenting a separate period of the 1000 years of history of the settlement in Poland of the largest Jewish community in the world. Forest – an installation of abstract tree forms reminds of the meeting place of the first Jewish merchants with inhabitants of Polish lands and creates a sense of emotional preparedness for the voyage ahead. First Encounters, featuring several precious exhibits, architectural structures reminiscent of the Middle Ages and walls covered with icons interpreted by young Polish artists, tells the story of the emergence of multicultural relations. A topographical model of Kraków and Kazimier, and an audiovisual presentation in the Paradisus Judaeorum gallery depict life in the 15th-16th century. The polychrome ceiling of the replica of the wooden synagogue from the 17th-18th century is featured in the Into the Country gallery. Encounters with Modernity is an account of the 19th century, its innovations and discoveries. The remaining three galleries bring to life a typical Jewish Street from the interwar period, the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust, and the developments of the Post War Years. The minimalistic and metaphorical New Life installation at the end of the exhibition suggests an open end to the 1000 years of history. The most important aspect of the Museum is the over feeling conveyed by the synthesis of the exhibit, rather than each exhibit separately, says Prof. Barbara Kishenblatt–Gimblett who heads the project. The exhibition is based on knowledge from source material with cooperation of an international team of historical experts from Poland, the United Stated, Israel and the Museum’s curatorial team.
The remainder of the 12, 800 m2 will be occupied by temporary exhibitions, a multi-purpose conference/cinema/concert hall, an Educational Centre film projection and workshop rooms, a club, a restaurant and a café.
Initiated and funded by the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute of Poland in Warsaw in 1996, the Museum was designed by Finnish architect Rainer Mahlamäki. Chief Architect of Warsaw, Michał Borowski, said in an interview with Rzeczpospolita newspaper, 'The project combines two opposites – the drama of history and a place that is alive. It is a crystal through which a stream has sculpted a passage to the Monument of Ghetto Heroes'.
The core exhibition was design by the award-winning British firm Event Communications and prepared by the Polish company Nizio Design International. In May 2012, Nizio Design will issue the first prototypes of the galleries. The construction, funded by the City of Warsaw and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, is executed by Polimex-Mostostal Company.
Editor: Marta Jazowska
Source: press release, www.jewishmuseum.org.pl