Daily Briefing Apr. 13: Day 555 – Israeli art in a post-October 7 world

Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

Culture editor Jessica Steinberg joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today’s episode.

We begin today’s program by discussing Israeli art in a post-October 7 world. Steinberg provides several examples, starting with Design Museum Holon’s latest exhibit, “Heroines.” She explains that the show examines how fashion design provided a sense of hope during dark times.

Our next stop is the spiral surroundings of the Bat Yam Museum of Art, which is hosting artist Ester Schneider in her first solo exhibit, “Hoshana. ” The exhibit showcases her installations, paintings, and watercolors. Steinberg sets the scene.

Sofie Berzon Mackie, Kibbutz Be’eri’s art gallery director and curator, has lived and worked in more than one temporary home since the Hamas onslaught on October 7, 2023, decimated her home and community. Steinberg shares how the Be’eri gallery, an art institution cherished on the kibbutz since 1986, was torched by Hamas terrorists, leaving nothing untouched. She explains where the art and curator are now.

Finally, we discuss how the hostage parents have prepared themselves for another Passover Seder without their children, who are still in bondage. Viki Cohen’s son Nimrod Cohen was a soldier taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023. She has recently released a children’s Haggadah for Passover, adding illustrations of the hostages — those still in captivity, those who were freed, and those who were killed — with symbols and signs of their lives. We hear more.

This conversation can also be viewed here:

For further reading:

Fashion exhibit looks at design as symbol of hope during World War II

Artist calls for salvation in show at Bat Yam museum

Be’eri artist and gallery director finds clarity in temporary home, art and family

Hostages’ families yearn and mourn in new Passover Haggadahs

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

Check out yesterday’s Daily Briefing episode here: