Feature Exhibitions

Into the Heartless Light of Darkness

Closing 1 December 2024

A raw and poignant photography exhibition by the artist Emmanuel Santos.

“The Happiest Man on Earth”

OPEN NOW

“This is my message, as long as I live, I’ll teach not to hate.” A special tribute showcase in the Museum lounge, honouring the incredible life stories of Eddie and Flore Jaku.

The Maccabean Hall: Celebrating 100 Years

OPEN NOW

Take a journey through time with memories from a century of our building, the Maccabean Hall, at this incredible new exhibit celebrating the vibrancy of Jewish history in Sydney.

Reverberations: A Future for Memory

December 2022 - May 2024

Discover Holocaust survivors’ stories of humanity, strength and heart, in this immersive exhibition delivering a glimpse into how people of the future will experience survivor memory.

Shaken to his Core: The Untold Story of Nolan’s Auschwitz

July 21 - October 23 2022

50 works by Sir Sidney Nolan from a series never before seen in Australia. The story of Nolan’s Auschwitz paintings remained untold for nearly sixty years. Not did the exhibition unearth a different side of the artist, it revealed an interpretation of the Holocaust through a distinctively Australian lens.

Woven Memory

Over millennia, carpets have been woven into the cultural and artistic fabric of Jewish homes and synagogues. Woven Memory displays a diverse collection of rare rugs from the Cadry family collection, exploring the significant role that rugs play in transmitting Jewish culture across time. 

The Unknown Paintings of Fred Zeckendorf

A showcase of the paintings by Fred Zeckendorf in the Theresienstadt ghetto from 1942 to 1944, capturing scenes of the ghetto’s landscape, people and daily life.

Vu iz dos Gesele (Where is the Little Street)?

Acclaimed Australian artist Wendy Sharpe will take over the walls of Sydney Jewish Museum’s gallery space, using a large-scale painted mural to tell her family’s stories from their Ukrainian hometown of Kamianets-Podilskyi.

Nostalgic Glimpses of a Bygone Era

Nostalgic Glimpses of a Bygone Era is an exhibition of paintings by Camille Fox, a Jewish artist who was born in the “golden era” in Alexandria, Egypt.

Camille has childhood memories of a charmed life in Egypt. She recalls memories of Mohammad, their ‘bawab’, who used to walk her to school, visiting her grandfather at his textile store in Anfushi, her grandmother sipping sweet black coffee in fine English porcelain cups and nibbling cakes in Alexandria’s finest tea rooms.

Jews from Islamic Lands

July 2020 - June 2021

Until the 15th century, most Jews lived in Islamic lands. This exhibition traces the lives of Jews living in the Middle East, Asia Minor, North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula from ancient times.

It tells a tapestry of stories from across these regions, of flourishing, tolerance, expulsion and displacement, as well as how these Jews have continued to celebrate their vibrant cultures in new places across the world.

It’s Personal: Images of objects from Ravensbrück and Sachsenhausen

25 November 2019 - 8 March 2020

It’s Personal is an exhibition of large-scale photographs by photographer Richard Wiesel, detailing small, personal artefacts housed in the archives at Sachsenhausen and Ravensbrück concentration camps. These items were donated or left behind by Holocaust victims.

I Met a Survivor

1 July - 16 October 2019

This exhibition of photographs by award-winning photographer Nadine Saacks captures intimate moments shared between Holocaust survivors and children too young to understand or grapple with the Holocaust.

The generation of Holocaust survivors is dwindling and when today’s young children are old enough to have a conversation about the Holocaust, they may not be able to actually meet a survivor and hear their testimony.

Jukebox Jewkbox! A Century on Shellac and Vinyl

15 April 2019 - 19 January 2020

To celebrate the history of music in Jewish life – and Jewish life in music – the Sydney Jewish Museum is presenting ‘Jukebox Jewkbox! A Century on Shellac and Vinyl’.

Visitors will be taken on a journey of the senses through tunes from cantorial to punk genres, and walls of hundreds of vibrant record covers, to unfold a surprising history of a universal language.

A Study of the Jewish Métier in Sydney

January - June 2019

In this exhibition, A Study of the Jewish Métier in Sydney, Australian Russian-speaking Jew Daniel Kuczko displays his photography of the Russian Jewish Community. Daniel grew up in Australia learning to …

The Fate of Things: Memory Objects and Art

2 November 2018 - 14 March 2019

In ‘The Fate of Things: Memory Objects and Art’, artists Anne Zahalka and Sylvia Griffin address loss and family trauma, attempting to piece together and make sense of fragmented histories.

Bobba Knows Best

September 2018 - January 2019

For the first time ever, the curators have crowd-sourced intimate photographs of grandmothers, taken with love, for an exhibition. This exhibition is a reflection of the strong bond that exists between grandmothers and their grandchildren. It is through these unique bonds that life lessons and age-old traditions are passed down.

Unseen Untold: Our Curious Collection

28 March - 14 October 2018

To mark the Museum’s 25th anniversary, the curators go behind-the-scenes, delving into the Archives to show some serious, quirky and curious items, each with a unique story to tell.

Registered, persecuted, annihilated: the sick and disabled under National Socialism

9-3 April 2018

Following an official apology for the crimes of psychiatrists under the National Socialist regime, the exhibition ‘Registered, persecuted, annihilated: the sick and disabled under National Socialism’ opened and focuses on this aspect of history.

Who I am

Until April 2018

A photography exhibition by D-Mo Zajac about the Jewish community in Sydney.

The Jews of Greece

October 25, 2017 - February 25, 2018

Through photography by Emmanuel Santos and documentary film by Carol Gordon and Natalie Cunningham, The Jews of Greece exhibition explores the history of one of the most ancient Jewish communities in the world.

Battle of Beersheba

April - September 2017

We invite you to come and discover where the close relationship between Australia and Israel began.

Closer: Portraits of Survival

26 March - 19 September

A powerful new exhibition exploring the artefacts and individuals that anchor us to the past.

Standing Up

Closed

A striking photo exhibit profiling local humanitarians and philanthropists who have devoted their lives to promoting the welfare of others

The Righteous Among Nations

Closing 2nd October

Profiling the ordinary heroes who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.

Anne Frank – A History for Today

Closed

Discover the life and times of the young girl whose voice Survived the Holocaust

Australian Jewish News: 120th Anniversary Photo Exhibition

Closed

Featuring front covers from 120 years of the Australian Jewish News, reflecting the challenges, triumphs and changing face of Australian Jewry.

The Great War – Through the lens of Harold Collins

April 14th - September 2015

A collection of photographs and diary extracts from serviceman and NAJEX founding member, Harold Emanuel Collins.

Signs of Life – Letters of the Holocaust

Closed

After Hitler came into power, the daily life of every Jew in Germany changed. Some 40,000 fled and family relationships by mail began. View the Museum’s collection of postcards and letters of the Holocaust.

Transcending Tradition

August 25 to November 13

This international exhibition explores the lives of Jewish mathematicians in German-speaking countries, from the 19th century through to their persecution in Nazi Germany.

Drawing On Memory

June 23 to July 28 2014

An exhibition of drawings commissioned by Holocaust Survivor Harry J Fransman. The drawings depict his memories of the hardships and pain he endured during the Holocaust. Harry will be at the exhibition on Sundays from 11am to 3pm.

Anne Frank – A History For Today

Extended until 9 June 2014

The Sydney Jewish Museum has chosen Anne Frank’s story to focus the public’s thinking about human atrocities.

Dressing Sydney: The Jewish Fashion Story

January 2013 to January 2014

Where did the name TAROCASH come from? Who started up BLOCH ballet shoes and apparel? What famous people wore HAMMERMAN FURS?