Thursday, November 16, 2023 (San Francisco, CA) — The Contemporary Jewish Museum (The CJM) is pleased to announce the California Jewish Open, an open call for artworks to be presented in a forthcoming exhibition of contemporary art that will highlight the vibrancy and diversity of work by Jewish-identifying artists throughout California. Artwork submissions are now open through December 17, 2023 for an exhibition opening in 2024.

The California Jewish Open will present works that unite artists around a central question: How are artists looking to the many aspects of Jewish culture, identity, and community to foster, reimagine, hold, or discover connection? Seeking connection is one the most distinctive qualities of being human. In a moment where some of our most natural responses—such as grief, hope, fear, and resilience—are being politicized to isolate and divide us, connection is essential to upholding our shared humanity.

This exhibition aims to present a wide range of ideas from artists of diverse identities and generations active in Jewish cultural and creative production in California. Artists are encouraged to think expansively about their connection to Jewish culture and identity through concepts such as humor, ritual practice, study, social justice, community, text, dialogue, heritage, songs, rites of passage, language, tradition, diaspora, and beyond. Exploring the notion of connection as both creative and community practice, the aim is for the artworks included in this exhibition to contextualize and expand on these concepts through a variety of creative expressions and artistic mediums.

Central to this exhibition—and to The CJM as an institution—is a commitment to nurture and uplift the vibrant and varied voices of Jewish artists in our creative communities. This exhibition offers an opportunity to hold space for expressions of creativity that represent thriving California Jewish life in the past, present, and future.

The CJM invites all Jewish-identifying artists residing in California, including emerging, mid-career, and established Jewish artists, to apply. Artists working in a variety of media—including but not exclusive to painting, drawing, photography, digital media, multimedia, sound, writing/poetry, installation, sculpture, ceramics, textile, and social practice—are all encouraged to apply.

Click here for more information and details on how to apply.

About The Contemporary Jewish Museum

For over thirty years The CJM has engaged audiences and artists in exploring contemporary perspectives on Jewish culture, history, art, and ideas. In 2008, The Museum opened a new building designed by internationally renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, providing a lively center where people of all ages and backgrounds can gather to experience art, share diverse perspectives, and engage in educational activities. Inspired by the Hebrew phrase l’chaim (“to life”), the building is a physical embodiment of The CJM’s mission to bring together tradition and innovation in an exploration of the Jewish experience in the twenty-first century.

Major support for The Contemporary Jewish Museum is generously provided by Bank of America; California Arts Council; Gaia Fund; Grants for the Arts; William Randolph Hearst Foundation; The Bernard Osher Foundation; John Pritzker Family Fund; Randee Seiger; Susanna and Michael Steinberg; and Taube Philanthropies.

Major support for The CJM Helen Diller Institute is generously provided by The Helen Diller Family Foundation.