Making/History: Reconstructing the Gwoździec Synagogue

As contemporary artists we constantly strike a balance between what is new and what our influences are. What is it then to approach a lost piece of art, which may have been essential to the heritage you hold dear, and make something new from it?

In 2011, three organizations—the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Handshouse Studio, and the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute of Poland—embarked on an extraordinary mission: to reconstruct the destroyed wooden Gwoździec Synagogue for MHPJ’s core exhibition. After years of research, an international team of 296 historians, architects, artisans, students and artists specializing in traditional woodwork and polychrome painting reconstructed the Gwoździec roof and ceiling, conducting educational workshops in the synagogues of eight Polish cities along the way. In advance of the official unveiling of MHPJ’s core exhibition on October 28, YIVO is hosting a special presentation Sunday, October 12th at 6:30pm which will feature a talk with the artists behind, and documenting, the project. Handshouse Studio will present their unique educational model of “learn by doing,” and how the political significance of their work impacted their process. Filmmakers from Trillium Studios will follow with excerpts from their documentary, Raise the Roof, which followed the reconstruction; and project funder Irene Pletka will deliver introductory remarks.

Making/History: Reconstructing the Gwoździec Synagogue
Presented by YIVO and the Polish Cultural Institute.
Sunday, October 12th, 2014 @6:30pm
15 W.16th Street, New York, NY 10011
Admission: General $15 | YIVO Members $12
Box Office: smarttix.com | (212) 868-4444

To learn more about the rebuilding of the Gwoździec Synagogue, and to view images and video of the project, visit here.