Steyn du Toit
REMEMBER. That’s the message pulsating across 34 artworks currently on show at the SA Jewish Museum. Shown as part of a traveling Lithuanian group exhibition named Zakhor!(the Hebrew word for ‘remember’), the contemporary collection has arrived in Cape Town following stops in Vilnius and Berlin.
Subtitled Imaginations of the former Jewish Vilne in modern Lithuanian Art, part of the catalogue introduces patrons to the city before World War II.
Not only was it a world centre of Jewish learning - referred to by Napoleon himself as “the Jerusalem of the North” - but Jewish faith, life and culture had thrived there for hundreds of years prior.
This era ended with the Holocaust. Today only 5 000 Jews remain from the estimated 200 000 that once populated the country.
“Though Vilnius is not a big city, it is famous for it’s tolerance and multiculturalism-influenced history,” says cultural attaché of the Republic of Lithuania in Germany, Dr. Gabrielė Žaidytė, who initiated, developed and oversaw the exhibition.
“It’s a place where different cultures and nations lived peacefully together throughout the ages. This designed the architectural face and mentality of the city and its inhabitants.
“Being the hometown or study place for many Litvaks, Vilnius was also given names such names as ‘Jerusalem of Lite’ and ‘Town of a 100 Synagogues.’
“In the past Vilnius was famous for its publishers, translators, libraries, intellectuals and scientists as well.”
When issuing their original call for works to be submitted for consideration, Žaidyt goes on to recall that their artistic brief cited that entries should reflect the city’s past - especially with regards to the work of artists who live and work there today.
“Even if all of participants were born after the Holocaust, for us it was important to stimulate the reflections about the history of the city, where the streets and their stories seem to be very well known. We were looking forward together with the participating artists, to experience new stories about our city. To reflect on to the culture of the former inhabitants of Vilnius.”
Each artist had a different process of becoming inspired by new visual stories, reflections, experiences.
“It happened in very different ways. Someone read the books of Abraham Suckewer. Another told a story of a house where Jewish people were hidden during the Holocaust, while yet another painted romantic empty streets of the former Jewish district.
“It was a challenge for us to ask our contemporary artists what the Jewish Vilnius means for them. Is it the city, which exists in their minds, or is it the city that they remember?
“ Zahkor! is a project that has to be experienced through two layers: the past and present. They are both part of our country’s future.”
Among the international guest in attendance on opening night were three of the artists - Arune Tornau, Raimondas Savickas, Linas Liandzbergis - whose work is being shown as part of the exhibition.
Visitors on the night were also introduced to saxophone player Kstutis Vaiginis Henrikas Gulbinas, who is currently working on a documentary with regards to Zakhor! as well.
While Vilnius is still on his personal bucket list, director of the South African Jewish Museum Gavin Morris describes it as a popular destination for many Jewish South Africans who travel there to trace their ancestral roots.
“All direct familial links to De Heim (Yiddish for “The Homeland” - as the first generation of South African Litvaks referred to Lithuania) were ended with the Holocaust,” he explains.
Today, South African Jews travel there to unearth what remains of their family’s history. According to Morris, the word Litvak refers to the generations of Jewish people who are the descendants of those Jews who left the shtetls (little villages) of Lithuania for the new world at the tail end of the 19th century.
“Today the only real surviving link to that period are the Litvak descendants of those who Jews who left Eastern Europe prior to the Holocaust.
“Roughly 25% of Eastern European Jewry had left Eastern Europe during this period for a myriad of reasons, but mostly to escape persecution. Among this migration were the estimated 40 000 to 60 000 Jews who arrived in South Africa between the 1880s and the early 1930s. These Litvak arrivals make up the bulk of South African Jewry and today almost all South African Jews have some Litvak ancestry.”
Morris believes that Zakhor! will appeal to a broad variety of visitors - including non-Jewish patrons.
“The exhibition works on a variety of levels, but most importantly it is made up of beautiful and thought-provoking art.”
“Apart from the subject matter, the exhibition is by a group of Lithuania’s top contemporary artists and as such can be appreciated solely for the beauty of their work.
“Furthermore, the body of work speaks to the importance of acknowledging and learning from history.
l Zakhor! can be seen at the South African Jewish Museum until June 12. Gallery hours: Sunday – Thursday from 10am to 5pm, and Fridays from 10am to 2pm: www.sajewishmuseum.org.za