The Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM) will open its new Daniel Libeskind-designed building on Sunday, June 8, 2008. The new facility "” located on Mission Street in downtown San Francisco's Yerba Buena cultural district "” is an adaptive reuse of the landmark 1907 Jessie Street Power Substation with an extension clad in vibrant blue steel panels. Mr. Libeskind's design for the new 63,000-square-foot building preserves the character-defining features of the substation and introduces bold contemporary spaces dedicated to galleries, performances, and education programs. The new CJM building embodies the Museum's mission to be a lively center for engaging audiences of all ages and backgrounds with Jewish culture and it greatly increases the Museum's space for exhibitions and innovative programs in visual, performing, and media arts.
Founded in 1984, the CJM has established a history of presenting exhibitions and education programs that explore contemporary perspectives on Jewish culture, history, art, and ideas. Embracing a range of disciplines and media, the CJM's new enhanced exhibition program will include contemporary art projects, historic objects, film and music, scholarly interpretations, and diverse cultural perspectives offering new entry points to experiencing Jewish culture. At the heart of the new facility is a large education center, which will allow the Museum to offer ongoing education programs in conjunction with its exhibitions for children, youth, adults, and seniors.
Under the creative direction of architect Daniel Libeskind, the CJM's new home revives the long-abandoned Jessie Street Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) Power Substation building and reflects the Museum's programmatic vision. Designed by Willis Polk in 1907, the substation played a key role in restoring energy to San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. Characteristic of Mr. Libeskind's designs for his building commissions, the structural addition to the original substation is resonant with symbolism. Inspired by the Hebrew phrase "L'Chaim" (To Life), the architect based the extension's conceptual organizing principles on the two symbolic Hebrew letters of "chai," the "chet" and the "yud". In partnership with San Francisco-based WRNS Architects, Libeskind created a dynamic contemporary design intimately connected to the museum-going experience. In addition, the historic conservation of a landmark San Francisco building, which will be accessible to the public for the first time in its more than 100-year history, is meant to be a symbol of the revitalization of both the Yerba Buena district and Jewish tradition and culture.
The CJM's new facility represents one of the last pieces of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency's plan to revitalize the Yerba Buena district, which is located in downtown San Francisco's South of Market Street (SoMa) neighborhood. Around 1994-1995, a time when the area was undergoing significant transformation, the Agency granted the Museum use of the Jessie Street Power Substation. A popular destination for locals and tourists alike, the district has become one of the densest museum areas in the country with 12 cultural institutions located within a 16 block radius. The neighborhood will be further enhanced with the development of Jessie Square, a new public plaza situated in front of the new CJM. Envisioned to be an extension of the popular Yerba Buena Gardens located across the street, Jessie Square will be a landscaped community gathering place.
"We look forward to opening our doors and to welcoming visitors to the Contemporary Jewish Museum in June," states Connie Wolf, director and CEO of the CJM. "Our inaugural programs and exhibitions and our beautiful new home, designed with such passion by Daniel Libeskind, will draw together people, art, and ideas to engage with Jewish culture in new and exciting ways."
Building Design
BLUE STEEL SKIN "” The most distinctive feature of the new addition to the Jessie Street Power Substation is its "skin" of over 3,000 luminous blue steel panels. The blue color of the steel is achieved through a procedure called interference-coating. Since there are no dyes or pigments to decay, the color will never fade or chalk. The building will be the first to feature a unique cross-hatching surface finish, which helps to diffuse and soften the reflection of light off the blue stainless steel. These panels will, however, appear to change color depending on the time of day, the weather, and the viewer's position, creating a dynamic, "living" surface.
GRAND LOBBY "” The grand lobby, a 2,500-square-foot public space, will serve as a dynamic entry to the Museum as well as a forum for special programs. In dialogue with the historic structure, a striking new form will greet visitors upon their entrance from Jessie Square. Spanning the length of the Museum's grand lobby is the "˜PaRDeS' wall, an architectural installation incorporating an abstract representation of the Hebrew acronym referring to the Kabbalistic practice of discovering four distinct levels of meaning within each text: literal, allegorical, personal, and mystical. Each letter of the acronym is embedded into the "˜PaRDeS' wall and illuminated, creating a visually dynamic atmosphere that evokes the Museum's philosophy of embracing multiple interpretations and layers of meaning.
GALLERIES "” The building design includes three gallery spaces, one on the ground level and two on the second floor. As an international center for art and culture, the CJM will originate exhibitions, host traveling exhibitions, and collaborate with museums from around the world to present outstanding works of art, objects, and installations.
The ground floor gallery, a 2,500-square-foot exhibition space, will have the feel of an urban industrial space with finished concrete floors and an exposed ceiling, revealing the building's inner skeleton. This gallery will allow the public glimpses of exhibitions and artists' installations through a wall-sized window facing Yerba Buena Lane, a pedestrian connector between Mission and Market streets that runs along the west side of the building. Offering a direct correlation between the Museum's curatorial purpose and its role as a public institution, the gallery window will provide a unique view, encouraging passersby to see the world inside the Museum as part of the larger life of the city.
The second floor galleries include a 7,000-square-foot gallery space, which features the original Power Substation trusses and skylights intersecting with the forms of the new design. The outcome is a physical manifestation of the CJM's mission, bringing together tradition and innovation; past, present, and future. This space offers a wide range of curatorial options, with room for one large exhibition, several different exhibitions, as well as more intimate spaces appropriate for smaller objects or works on paper.
The second floor's west end will culminate in a dramatic 2,200-square-foot gallery reaching at its peak some 60 feet high, symbolically representing the Hebrew letter "˜yud.' This mystical letter begins the Hebrew words for Jew, God, and Jerusalem, and the ascending, dynamic movement up to the light-filled "˜yud' shape inspires a compelling space for visitors to experience programs, performances, special events, and artist installations, as well as views from the distinctive diamond-shaped windows.
EDUCATION CENTER "” The new facility will house a vibrant education center that will be a place for visitors to engage in a dialogue on culture, history, art, and ideas. Located at the heart of the building on the ground floor level, the education center will play a fundamental role in the Museum, mirroring the central role that education plays in Jewish culture. The 3,500 square feet of education space includes a seminar room and activity rooms and will allow the CJM to significantly expand its array of enriching educational programs for students, teachers, community members, artists, families, youth, adults, and senior citizens. Additionally, the education center will feature an open resource area with an exhibition space and a relaxing, living-room-like atmosphere with tables, comfortable seating, computers, and various resource materials allowing visitors to learn more about current exhibitions and other relevant topics.
MULTIPURPOSE ROOM "” The 3,300-square-foot multipurpose room with state-of-the-art audio visual technology was designed to be highly flexible. Able to accommodate film/video, intimate theatrical performances, lectures, conversations, and readings, the room features a retractable seating system, which allows for auditorium-style seating or an open, unstructured space.
MUSEUM STORE and CAFÉ "” The 2,000-square-foot retail store will offer visitors a distinctive mix of products that support the Museum's mission, and provide them with additional resources to enhance their museum experience. Products will include contemporary Judaica that celebrates important milestones in Jewish life, exhibition-inspired merchandise, scholarly and popular publications for a range of ages, jewelry, gifts, and toys. All proceeds will support the Museum's exhibitions and educational programs. The shop will be accessible through the grand lobby and via an entrance off Yerba Buena Lane, the pedestrian lane connecting Market and Mission streets. At the opposite end of the grand lobby, the Museum café will offer welcoming indoor seating in the eastern-most section of the historic Jessie Street Power Substation, as well as outdoor seating on Jessie Square.
Inaugural Exhibitions and Commissions
The MuseumIn the Beginning: Artists Respond to Genesis, is the first in a series of exhibitions developed by the CJM that will examine the contemporary relevance of Jewish texts from a variety of artistic, cultural, and literary perspectives. The exhibition will illustrate the changing understanding of the story of creation in Genesis Chapter I through an exploration of its earliest depictions into the current era. Since ancient times, biblical text has been scrutinized, re-examined, and reinterpreted so that it remains meaningful in a changing world. Inspired by this rabbinical practice and the Museum's mission of looking at tradition through a contemporary lens, In the Beginning explores a range of responses to the first chapter of Genesis. The story of the origins of the universe and the creation of humanity is multi-layered and rich in universal themes related to religion, belief, theism, language, physics, creation, the environment, and ancient literature.
The exhibition will be uniquely designed to create a lively dialogue between historical representations of the story of creation and seven major artist projects commissioned by the CJM. Starting with early depictions of creation in Roman-period mosaics, the exhibition will continue into the medieval period with richly illuminated manuscripts depicting God blessing the earthly orb alongside rare Jewish representations of creation found in Passover Haggadot from 14th to 15th century Spain. In the Beginning will investigate the shift to a more humanist approach to Genesis during the Renaissance with Michelangelo-inspired images of a heavenly God creating Adam, followed by atmospheric and dramatic works by Tiepolo, Doré, and Tissot in the 18th and 19th centuries. Continuing into the 20th century, the exhibition will explore various abstract and figurative styles used to depict creation, such as the existential questioning of "creation" and "being" found in works by artists such as Jacob Lawrence and Marc Chagall.
The CJM is pleased to be working with such a dynamic group of nationally and internationally recognized artists including: Alan Berliner, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Ben Rubin, Matthew Ritchie, Kay Rosen, Shirley Shor, and Mierle Ukeles. The commissioned works vary widely in approach and artistic practice and range from sound installation inspired by chanting, to multi-media installation that examines the experience and impact of the formation of the universe. Together, artists will create bold and provocative new works that encourage audiences to rethink assumptions and to consider new ideas about the creation of our world and humankind.
Contemporary scientific viewpoints about the origins of the universe and creation stories from cultures around the world will also be represented in the exhibition and its programs to provide viewers with an understanding of the ongoing quest to understand creation and new beginnings. Through the commissioned artworks and complementary historical, scientific, and cultural components, In the Beginning will provide audiences with an engaging and dynamic forum for exploration, discussion, and debate about one of the biggest questions of all time.
In the Beginning is organized by the CJM under the direction of co-curators Director Connie Wolf, Deputy Director Fred Wasserman, and Assistant Curator Dara Solomon.
In addition to In the Beginning, the CJM will host the exhibition From The New Yorker to Shrek: The Art of William Steig. The exhibition, located in the first floor gallery, will feature over 190 of Steig's drawings for his New Yorker cartoons and beloved children's books, including his 1990 picture book Shrek! ("fear" in Yiddish), as well as his lesser known mid-life symbolic drawings. Organized by The Jewish Museum in New York City, where it will be on view from November 4, 2007 - March 16, 2008, this exhibition pays tribute to Steig's incredible creativity and his prolific association with The New Yorker magazine, which is by far the longest of any of its cartoonists, with over 1,600 drawings and over 120 covers published during a period of 73 years.
Occupying the Museum's second floor Special Events/"˜yud' gallery will be John Zorn Presents the Aleph-Bet Project. With a soaring 60-foot-ceiling and walls that converge at striking angles with 36 diamond-shaped windows to the sky, the "˜yud' gallery is a dramatic venue for sound installation where visitors can rest, contemplate, and reflect. Highly-acclaimed musician and MacArthur Fellow, John Zorn, will curate and commission a series of sound pieces based on letters of the Hebrew alphabet by leading musicians, composers, and artists. Linking the alphabetic symbols found throughout Daniel Libeskind's architecture with the CJM's mission of rethinking tradition through its programming, the musicians will be inspired by the Kabbalistic principle that the ancient Hebrew alphabet is a spiritual tool full of hidden meaning and harmony. Throughout the run of the Aleph-Bet Project, each of the composers will be invited to perform their music live at the Museum.
The CJM's inaugural programming will continue throughout 2008. In the Fall, the CJM will be the first museum in the country to host StoryCorps Outpost. StoryCorps is a New York-based oral history project founded and directed by award-winning documentary artist and MacArthur Fellow David Isay. StoryCorps, which airs each Friday on National Public Radio, brings together people from across generational, professional, socio-economic, and cultural divides by providing a dedicated space where people can tell their stories and share their common humanity. For an entire year, CJM visitors will be able to record their personal stories in a StoryCorps recording and listening Outpost housed in the first floor gallery. Participants take home a copy of their story and another copy is added to the Library of Congress, allowing Bay Area residents to add their voices to contemporary American history.
Also in the Fall, the CJM will bring Warhol's Jews to West Coast audiences for the first time ever, as part of a major exhibition about the series and the individuals it portrays. Andy Warhol's extraordinary series, Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century, portrays a pantheon of great Jewish thinkers, politicians, performers, musicians, and writers. Exploring Warhol's contribution to our understanding of modern American Jewish history, the exhibition will provide a new layer of social and art historical context for Ten Portraits, a context which has never before been presented in conjunction with the series. The exhibition is organized by the CJM with guest curator Richard Meyer, Professor of Art History at the University of Southern California, and it will open first at the Jewish Museum, New York in Spring 2008.
Inaugural Education Programs
In the new education center, CJM will offer myriad opportunities for visitors to participate in the arts and intergenerational learning. Following are a few highlights:
Target Art Alive! Community Days
The centerpiece of the Museum's community outreach efforts, Target Art Alive! Community Days will be free quarterly community celebrations where visitors will enjoy admission-free access and unique educational exhibitions, lively music and dance performances, family-friendly hands-on activities, storytelling, and more. Target Art Alive! Community Days will celebrate significant Jewish holidays and include lessons and traditions from other cultures. The first Target Art Alive! Community Day will take place on June 8, 2008 and will celebrate the opening of the Museum's new building. This program is sponsored by Target Corp.
Other family, community, and teacher programs include:
- Sunday Art-Making, a drop-in program for families to create art together.
- Interactive Family Tours, special docent-led tours with content targeted to a family audience.
- Family ArtPacks, custom-designed, age-appropriate packs available for check out at the admission desk and filled with tools and activities to help families explore the Museum's exhibitions.
- Museum Teaching Fellows, a professional development program, trains teachers to integrate object-based learning in the classroom curricula, using CJM exhibitions.
Outreach programs for youth will also feature prominently among the CJM's education programs during opening year. Fostering self-esteem, creativity, and a sense of community among young people is vital, especially in an urban center as diverse and expansive as the Bay Area. By reaching out to youth and enabling them to become engaged and active participants in the community, the Museum's intent is to foster and maintain a healthier, more accepting society. The following programs are designed specifically for a youth audience:
- Access 18, an innovative new program offering free admission to all youth up through age 18 and a free youth membership program.
- Teen Art Connect, a career exploration and internship program that will take place after-school and will also include a youth advisory program.
Project Leadership
The Contemporary Jewish Museum is led by Director and CEO Connie Wolf. Roselyne C. Swig serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees and leads the CJM's $80 million comprehensive Campaign for the New Museum with the CJM Board of Trustees. The Campaign for the New Museum includes support to build the new $47.5 million facility, as well as to expand operations and programs, and increase the endowment to $25 million, ensuring the Museum's financial security and long-term stability.
Connie Wolf has served as Director and CEO of the CJM since 1999. With more than 25 years of experience in museum management, visual arts, and education programming, Ms. Wolf is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Museum and for guiding the Museum's artistic vision. Under her leadership, the Museum has increased its profile as an institution that encourages cross-cultural dialogue through a wide array of exhibitions and programs. She has been instrumental in guiding the design of the Museum's new facility, working in a close collaborative relationship with architect Daniel Libeskind to ensure the needs and mission of the Museum are fulfilled.
Roselyne C. Swig has served as Chair of the Board of Trustees for the CJM since 2003. An accomplished civic leader and champion for the arts with many years of experience with local, national, and international organizations, Mrs. Swig has long been dedicated to ensuring that Jewish art and culture are meaningful and relevant to people of all ages and backgrounds. Since her appointment, she has been integral in leading the Campaign for the New Museum.
The CJM's Board consists of 31 Trustees representing a wide range of professional backgrounds and experience, including Joseph R. Seiger who has served as a member of the Board and Chair of the Building Committee since 2004. As Founder and President of Vintage Properties, Mr. Seiger brings significant leadership and expertise to the CJM's building project.
The Contemporary Jewish Museum was the first North American commission (1998) for internationally renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, based in New York. In 2003, Mr. Libeskind was awarded what is presently the most well-known building project worldwide: the master plan design for Ground Zero and the World Trade Center site in New York. Mr. Libeskind's designs for other cultural institutions include the Jewish Museum in Berlin, the Imperial War Museum in Manchester, England, the Danish Jewish Museum in Copenhagen, the extension to the Denver Art Museum in Colorado, and the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto.
The San Francisco-based architecture firm WRNS Studio has collaborated closely with Daniel Libeskind to execute the design of the Contemporary Jewish Museum. WRNS Studio's projects include visual and performing arts centers, large-scale healthcare facilities, and residential complexes.
As a measure of its commitment to the conservation of the historic Jessie Street Power Substation, the CJM hired Architectural Resources Group, a firm specializing in architecture, planning, historic preservation, conservation, and new design in historic settings.
| For media information or visuals, please contact: | ||
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ssilver@thecjm.org | wendy@norriscommunications.biz | |
| Kate Patterson | Alexandra Quinn | |
| (415) 344-8818 | (415) 279-7133 | |
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