The Judaic Art Gallery was established 40 years ago in 1983. Envisioned as a collection of significant works of ceremonial art that bear witness to the richness and diversity of Jewish art and culture past and present, the gallery has expanded dramatically over the years in both scope and footprint. This exhibition celebrates the continued growth of the collection and the incorporation of new media, new regions, and new voices into the gallery.

Featured are works of art acquired in 2023 that, like the gallery itself, span some three hundred years of history and three continents. They include two elaborately embroidered 18th-century Italian textiles, a Torah mantle and curtain; a 19th-century Algerian Torah crown; and a Miriam’s cup commissioned by the Museum from the American artist Amy Reichert. As a group these new acquisitions represent the exciting ways the Judaic Art Gallery is growing to incorporate new media like textiles and to better represent the diversity of Jewish experience and highlight new perspectives and places.

Organized by the North Carolina Museum of Art. This exhibition is made possible, in part, by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources; the North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation, Inc.; and the William R. Kenan Jr. Endowment for Educational Exhibitions. Research for this exhibition was made possible by Ann and Jim Goodnight/The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fund for Curatorial and Conservation Research and Travel.