• New Considerations:Jewish Museums in the Era of COVID-19
• Melissa Martens Yaverbaum (bio)

If there is an expectation of what it means to be a museum, and if there is an expectation of what it means to present Jewish history and culture, then a "Jewish museum" is hypothetically the amalgam of such expectations. The reality is, however, that Jewish museums have always fallen somewhere beyond expectations. Jewish museums are much more about an idea than a collection, and ideas are bound to change.

Now faced with the pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic and a number of pressing social concerns simultaneously, Jewish museums are presented with unprecedented challenges and opportunities. Nearly a year into the pandemic, we can already see how Jewish museums are experimenting and evolving at an accelerated pace.

It is worthwhile to explore this new period of experimentation against the context in which American Jewish museums emerged. Like other identity museums that ripened in the second half of the twentieth century, Jewish museums were created with a specific purpose: to tell stories that are not represented elsewhere, and to do so with voices and materials from source communities.

Jewish museums evolved alongside other compatible concerns and developments over the last century: the relevance of Jewish immigration and refugee narratives to the "melting pot" storyline; the re-embrace of the ethnic past; academic and popular writings on Jewish subjects; efforts to save stories and materials from Holocaust survivors; the crystallization of "continuity" as a communal priority; and new academic disciplines—including Jewish studies, Holocaust studies, and museum studies—which propelled new research and methodologies forward to explore Jewish history and identity.

Not coincidentally, the years 1970 to 2008 saw a boom in Jewish museum building projects and expansions. Each project supported a particular emphasis, such as American Jewish history, regional Jewish history, contemporary Jewish art, or Holocaust memorialization. Some museums promoted wider intellectual frames, such as tolerance and immigration.

In the time of Covid-19, Jewish museums are facing new possibilities and difficult choices. Some of the most pressing issues include: [End Page 661]

1. 1). The economic realities of running a nonprofit known for presenting inperson experiences.

2. 2). Innovating new models for content delivery while also preparing for onsite exhibitions to resume and meet expectations.

3. 3). Preparing for the safety of vulnerable Jewish-museum audiences, including inter-generational families, school groups, teachers, and the last of America's Holocaust survivors.

4. 4). Working to satisfy new communal program needs for seniors, schools, summer camps, and synagogue audiences seeking community and beauty.

5. 5). Resuming the museum functions of collecting, research, and exhibit production. While some of this work can be conducted online, much of it requires physical contact and production.

It is already a profound responsibility for museums to take on the challenge to document, interpret, and describe our times; doing so during a pandemic has special challenges and rewards. Organizations including the National Library of Israel and George Mason University have provided platforms for digital images and ephemera. The Council of American Jewish Museums is working with Jewish museums to record Jewish experiences throughout the Covid-19 era.

Though the mechanics of collecting remain challenging, it is compelling to imagine the Jewish topics we might better understand as a result of these efforts: the pandemic, antisemitism, protests, racial justice, innovations in Judaism, and the 2020 elections, to name just a few.

Most Jewish museums have expanded their programmatic repertoire, technical fluency, and audiences as a result of the pandemic: most notably, through online offerings. Many have posted online versions of exhibitions and an unprecedented number of free educational resources. Regional museums including the Jewish Museum of Florida have built international audiences attracted by subjects such as Judith Leiber and Jewish tattoos.

Some museums are utilizing outdoor spaces instead of galleries for the fall 2020 season. One example is the Oregon Jewish Museum, which is displaying Adam McKinney's "Shelter in Place" piece addressing issues of racial justice through video and photography. The work is one of several commissioned by the "Dwelling in A Time of Plagues" project, which pairs Jewish museums with artists to create outdoor works for Sukkot and Pesach of 5781.

As part of the same...

• 新考虑因素：COVID-19时代的犹太博物馆
• 梅利莎·马滕斯·雅沃丹（生物）

如果期望成为一个博物馆意味着什么，并且如果期望呈现犹太历史和文化意味着什么，那么“犹太博物馆”可以说是这种期望的混合物。但是，现实情况是，犹太博物馆总是在某个地方出乎人们的意料之外。犹太博物馆更多的是关于一个想法，而不是一个藏品，而且想法肯定会发生变化。

现在，面对Covid-19大流行的压力和许多紧迫的社会问题，犹太博物馆面临着前所未有的挑战和机遇。流行病已经快一年了，我们已经可以看到犹太博物馆是如何进行实验和发展的。

有必要在美国犹太博物馆出现的背景下探索这一新的实验时期。就像在二十世纪下半叶成熟的其他身份博物馆一样，犹太博物馆的创建也有一个特定的目的：讲故事在其他地方没有代表，并用来源社区的声音和材料来做。

上个世纪，犹太博物馆与其他兼容的关注事项和发展一起发展：犹太移民和难民叙事与“熔炉”故事情节的相关性；重新拥抱过去的民族；有关犹太人的学术著作和流行著作；努力保存大屠杀幸存者的故事和资料；将“连续性”明确化为共同的优先事项；以及新的学科（包括犹太研究，大屠杀研究和博物馆研究）推动了探索犹太历史和身份的新研究和方法论的发展。

并非巧合的是，从1970年到2008年，犹太博物馆的建筑项目和扩建都在蓬勃发展。每个项目都支持特定的重点，例如美国犹太历史，区域犹太历史，当代犹太艺术或大屠杀纪念馆。一些博物馆推广了宽容的思想体系，例如宽容和移民。

在Covid-19时代，犹太博物馆正面临着新的可能性和艰难的选择。一些最紧迫的问题包括：[结束页面661]

1. 1）。经营一家以展示亲身经历而闻名的非营利组织的经济现实。

2. 2）。创新内容交付的新模型，同时还为现场展览做准备以恢复并达到期望。

3. 3）。为脆弱的犹太博物馆观众的安全做准备，包括世代相传的家庭，学校团体，教师和美国最后的大屠杀幸存者。

4. 4）。努力满足寻求社区和美丽的老年人，学校，夏令营和犹太教堂听众的新的公共计划需求。

5. 5）。恢复博物馆的收集，研究和展览制作功能。尽管其中一些工作可以在线进行，但其中许多工作需要身体接触和生产。

博物馆承担着记录，解释和描述我们时代的挑战已经是博物馆的深层责任。在大流行期间这样做会带来特殊的挑战和回报。包括以色列国家图书馆和乔治·梅森大学在内的组织都提供了用于数字图像和临时数据库的平台。美国犹太博物馆理事会正在与犹太博物馆合作，记录整个Covid-19时代的犹太经历。

尽管搜集机制仍然具有挑战性，但令人信服的是，通过这些努力，我们可能会更好地理解犹太话题：大流行，反犹太主义，抗议，种族正义，犹太教的创新以及2020年的选举，仅举一例。很少。

由于大流行，大多数犹太博物馆都扩大了节目编排，技术流利程度和观众范围：最值得注意的是，通过在线产品。许多网站发布了展览的在线版本，并提供了前所未有的免费教育资源。包括佛罗里达犹太博物馆在内的地区性博物馆已吸引了国际观众，这些观众被朱迪思·莱伯和犹太纹身等题材所吸引。

在2020年秋季，一些博物馆正在利用室外空间而不是画廊。一个例子是俄勒冈犹太博物馆，该博物馆展示亚当·麦金尼（Adam McKinney）的“就地庇护所”（Shelter in Place）作品，该作品通过视频和摄影解决种族正义问题。该作品是“瘟疫时期的住宅”项目委托的几项作品之一，该项目将犹太博物馆与艺术家配对，为5781年的Sukkot和Pesach创作了户外作品。

作为同一部分...