FALL’16 L’Dor V’Dor Generation to Generation� FROM 1886 TO T L’Dor V’Dor Generation t Kate Milford Cover image: “A Pickle Vendor in the Ghetto, New York City.” Lower East Side postcard from the collection of the Blavatnik Archive. O THE PRESENT n to Generation� The Eldridge Street Synagogue embodies the Jewish concept of L’Dor V’Dor, From Generation to Generation. In its heyday, the grand sanctuary provided a place to maintain age-old traditions and also to navigate the customs of a new American home. Today it is a portal to the past, one of the only remaining markers of the Jewish immigrant community of the Lower East Side. At the same time, it is a place with a continuing and vibrant Jewish life, where new generations of musicians, writers, scholars and artists share their latest works and performances with people of all ages, cultures, nationalities and faiths. This fall, the Museum will present a notable line-up of tours, talks, concerts, family events, fi lms, and more that celebrate the wisdom of generations young and old, past and present. We will also present a festival that marks almost to the day the 1886 anniversary of the laying of the Eldridge Street Synagogue’s cornerstone. Through music, food, talks and performance we will recall what life was like for the Jewish community of the Lower East Side. I am excited to announce the opening of a new gallery space on the Museum’s entry level that will house temporary exhibits. Join us for the inaugural exhibition featuring eighteen new works by artist Mark Podwal created after his visit to Da˛browa Białostocka, the town in Poland in which his mother was born. In December, we partner with the Blavatnik Archive and will display their collection of vintage postcards of the Lower East Side that recall this area when it was the center of Jewish immigrant life. We look to our past and our roots for inspiration. We leave behind new stories and traditions for those that follow. Several lead funders made our Generation to Generation programming possible. The Museum is deeply grateful to The David Berg Foundation, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation and the Alice Lawrence Foundation for supporting these programs which explore continuity and change between generations. Bonnie Dimun, Executive Director New Exhibitions Two exhibitions inaugurate our new gallery space Darryl Pitt Artist Mark Podwal— Kaddish for Da˛browa Białostocka Opening and Book Party: Sunday, September 18 from 3 to 5 pm On view through Thursday, December 1, 2016 Included with Museum admission Eighteen new works in acrylic and colored pencil by artist Mark Podwal inaugurate our new exhibition space. The featured works are inspired by Podwal’s recent visit to Da˛browa Białostocka, a shtetl in northeastern Poland where his mother was born. Although at one time Jews made up 78 percent of the town’s population, none remain today. A documentary fi lm about Da˛browa by Tomasz Wisniewski will be screened every day at 2 pm along with the artwork. This event also celebrates the publication of Podwal’s new book, Reimagined: 45 Years of Jewish Art. Mark Podwal’s work is represented in collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Israel Museum, and the Jewish Museum in Prague. 4 The Jewish Ghetto in Postcards: From Eastern Europe to the Lower East Side Opening: Thursday, December 15 from 6 to 8 pm On view through February 23, 2017 Included with Museum admission In the early 20th century, the Lower East Side was the most crowded neighborhood in the world. Fleeing violent persecution, large waves of newly arrived immigrants from Eastern Europe recreated a familiar environment of their previous homeland as they sought to establish new roots in America. Uniquely captured in postcards, the social media of the time, lively street scenes crowded with pickle vendors, pushcarts and horse-drawn carriages presented a stunning visual record of the “Jewish ghetto” in New York and cities throughout Eastern Europe. For many people these reproductions evoked an exotic locale like no other at the time—a place that no longer exists today. An exhibit of original postcards from the Blavatnik Archive will bring images of that by-gone era back to the Lower East Side, and highlight the continuity of Jewish street life from its Eastern European origins to its formative role at the heart of the Jewish American experience. The Blavatnik Archive is a non-profit foundation dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of primary resources that contribute to the study of 20th century Jewish and world history. More from the collections can be found at blavatnikarchive.org. RSVP & information: eldridgestreet.org | 212.219.0302 12/4 9/8 Sacred Swing Jack and Daniel Mendelson Cantorial Jam Lost & Presenting Cantorial Jam with Cantors Jewish Jack and Daniel Mendelson and musical forms Jazz Pianist Anthony Coleman at risk of Thursday, September 8 at 7 pm disappearing $25 adults; $15 students and seniors During the Golden Age of Cantorial Music many Jewish liturgical singers were fans of jazz, just as jazz artists were often devotees of the cantorial art. Father and son duo, Cantors Jack and Daniel Mendelson, and jazz pianist Anthony Coleman join forces to celebrate the unique fusion of these two celebrated and complementary art forms. They present a “cantorial jam” in our magnifi cent sanctuary, once home to renowned cantors of the early twentieth century. Sacred Swing Music with the Eyal Vilner Big Band Sunday, December 4 at 3 pm $25 adults; $15 students and seniors By popular demand, Israeli-born composer and musician Eyal Vilner returns to Eldridge Street with his swinging 16-piece band. They will perform Vilner’s new compositions, original versions of jazz classics and music from the Big Band’s new project “Sacred Swinging Sounds.” Sponsored by Helene and Steven Walsey Eyal Vilner 6 The Fabulous Shpilkes 12/18 Elaine Hoffman Watts and Susan Watts t & Found Music A Night with the Andy Statman Trio Wednesday, December 14 at 7 pm $30 in advance; $45 at the door Presented by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation Dubbed “a musician’s musician” by The New York Times, Andy Statman is one of the premier clarinetists and mandolinists playing today. Join him and his longtime partners Larry Eagle (percussion) and Jim Whitney (bass) for their / Andy Statman trademark blend of American roots music, Hasidic music, klezmer, and avant-garde jazz. The Fabulous Shpilkes with Susan Watts and Elaine Hoffman Watts Sunday, December 18 at 3 pm $25 adults; $15 students and seniors Trumpeter and vocalist Susan Watts and her mother, drummer Elaine Hoffman Watts, command a klezmer repertoire that is four-generations strong. Together they perform music written by Elaine’s grandfather in the Ukraine, her father in the United States, and their own recent compositions. RSVP & information: eldridgestreet.org | 212.219.0888 x205 Talks Walks Books 9/25 Person Place Thing & More Randy Cohen and Patricia Marx Talk and Live Taping: Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen and Patricia Marx Sunday, September 25 at 3 pm $14 adults; $10 students and seniors Join Patricia Marx, humorist and writer, in conversation with Randy Cohen, author and original writer of “The Ethicist” for The New York Times Magazine. This program will be a live taping of Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen, an interview show based on the idea that people are particularly engaging when they speak not directly about themselves but about something they care about. Marx will talk about one person and one place, and then select one thing drawn from the Museum at Eldridge Street’s collection that is important to her. HOLIDAY INN THEATRE PARTY & FUNDAISER Tuesday, October 4 at 8 pm Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street Enjoy Roundabout Theatre’s Broadway premiere of Holiday Inn, the dazzling new musical inspired by the Academy Award- winning fi lm. This joyous production features thrilling dance numbers, laugh-out-loud comedy and a parade of hit Irving Berlin songs. Whether you adored the fi lm or are experiencing Holiday Inn for the fi rst time, this year-round romance is sure to delight. Be one of the fi rst to see Holiday Inn and support the Museum at Eldridge Street. RSVP [email protected] or 212.219.0888 x202. Tickets are $150 and include a tax-deductible donation. 8 10/5 Shuls of Grandeur Book Launch: Bialystoker Synagogue The Gilded Age in New York, 1870-1910 with Author Esther Crain Wednesday, October 5 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm Pay What You Wish It’s hard to imagine an era in New York’s past more transformative than the Gilded Age. In 1866, New York’s population of just over 800,000 was concentrated below 23rd Street. By 1900, new arrivals from across the world helped push the population to three million. Electric lights bathed parks and sidewalks in a brilliant nighttime glow. Steel offi ce towers skimmed the heavens, and a graceful bridge united the greater metropolis. Join Esther Crain, author of the new release The Gilded Age in New York, 1870-1910 (Hachette Book Group, 2016), and the writer behind the website Ephemeral New York, for a reading and Q&A. She’ll explore what day-to-day life was like for New Yorkers in an age of incredible wealth, deep poverty, political corruption, invention, ingenuity, and rapid social change. Walking Tour: Shuls of Grandeur Monday, October 10 at 10:45 am $25 per person—Presented with the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy Meet in front of Abrons Art Center 466 Grand Stree; RSVP is required Join us on Columbus Day for an exploration of the Lower East Side’s most historic synagogues.