Israeli art exhibit coming to Elon in remembrance of Oct. 7 events

Jewish Life at Elon along with campus partners The Truitt Center of Religious and Spiritual Life, Jewish Studies Department, Elon Hillel, Chabad at Elon and Elon Alpha Epsilon Pi are proud to bring an exhibition from the ANU Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv to Elon’s campus to commemorate the horrific attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

The exhibition, simply called “October Seventh,” opens Monday, Oct. 7, at 11 a.m. in the McBride Gathering Space in the Numen Lumen Pavilion. It includes curated works by 25 artists whose creative activity reflects the atrocious times Israeli society has been facing since the Oct. 7 attacks. Some of these artists are still living and some are deceased – either murdered on Oct. 7 or having died during the ongoing war. Others are residents or former residents of the southern areas of Israel who suffered the loss of their loved ones, their homes or whose families were affected by the horrors of the massacre.

The “October Seventh” exhibition is accompanied by a soundtrack by Israeli musicians who were among the first to give voice to the collective grief felt by so many. They performed impromptu concerts for evacuees, families of the hostages in hospitals and at funerals. The exhibition’s soundtrack is comprised of songs heard since Oct. 7. Many are familiar songs that the war has charged with new meaning.

On Oct. 7 at 5 p.m., join community members in the Sacred Space to remember Oct. 7 together. Led by Dara Kurtz P’22 P’25, a contributing author to the anthology “On Being Jewish Now,” the event will feature different voices on campus on how lives have been changed since that day. A reception will follow. Anyone who registers can receive a free copy of “On Being Jewish Now,” set to be released on Nov. 1.

The art exhibit will remain open to the Elon community in the McBride Gathering Space through Tuesday, Oct. 8, at 8 p.m.