Our inaugural exhibitions will explore the intersection of identity, community, and civic engagement.
Core Gallery
Visitors will come together in the core gallery to take part in the continuing project of building community at the intersection of American democracy and the American Jewish experience, connecting past, present and future. They will interact with material and questions from the past and be invited to consider how that history can inform our and set a course for the future.
Community Lab
Rotating workshop experiences for families and school groups will provide both facilitated and free-form tinkering activities that enable a closer examination of primary sources related to Washington Jewish history, Jewish holiday-related arts and activities, and social justice explorations.
Synagogue
The first floor of the synagogue will provide orientation and introduction to the historic building. Visitors will explore the many different facets of Jewish Washington and the many diverse communities all trying to navigate being Jewish in America in the unique circumstances of Washington, DC.
In the second-floor sanctuary, visitors will experience a 360-degree theatrical memory-scape of people, places and events that set the context for and built the foundation of Jewish Washington today.
As visitors move through the sanctuary and touch selected objects and parts of the architecture, photographic projections may react to their presence, triggering stories and messages that deliver both an overall narrative and intimate encounters.