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Photo: Genevieve Shiffrar

Rabbi Batshir Torchio on the Mikveh

Thursday, December 12, 2024 | 11:30am

ADMISSION: Free with Museum admission

2024-12-12 11:30:00 UTC2024-12-12 23:00:00 UTC America/Los_AngelesThe CJM - 736 Mission St, San Francisco, CARabbi Batshir Torchio on the MikvehFor artist Nicki Green, the mikveh—or Jewish ritual bath—can offer a site of Jewish queerness and transness. A ceramic sculpture representing the mikveh is central to the exhibition Nicki Green: Firmament, both physically and metaphorically. Join Rabbi Batshir Torchio in the gallery to learn the religious and cultural history of the ritual bath and make new connections to its contemporary uses, interpretation as a site of transformation, and ability to act as a symbol of reclamation.

Note: This event has been rescheduled for Thursday, December 12

For artist Nicki Green, the mikveh—or Jewish ritual bath—can offer a site of Jewish queerness and transness. A ceramic sculpture representing the mikveh is central to the exhibition Nicki Green: Firmament, both physically and metaphorically. Join Rabbi Batshir Torchio in the gallery to learn the religious and cultural history of the ritual bath and make new connections to its contemporary uses, interpretation as a site of transformation, and ability to act as a symbol of reclamation.

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About the Series

In this series of in-gallery talks, explore the rich, multifaceted meanings behind Nicki Green: Firmament—an exhibition infused with profound Jewish religious and cultural themes. Some pieces, such as kosher dill pickle fermentation vats, narrate stories of cultural heritage, while others, like large-scale sculptures of the four archangels, evoke the mystical elements of Jewish tradition. Enhance your understanding of Firmament through brief gallery talks led by Rabbis and Maggids, offering deeper insights into the captivating artworks on view.

About the speaker

Rabbi Batshir Torchio is a ritual and spiritual practitioner who has been engaging with folks for lifecycle events and learning. Batshir is moved by the translation and ownership of ancient ritual into contemporary meaning; to “make the old new, and the new, holy.” (Rav Kook) In addition to her role as Senior Jewish Educator at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, Batshir also guides tours through Israel and Poland, and is a life-cycle officiant, both locally and abroad.

About the Exhibition

Nicki Green: Firmament

Transdisciplinary artist Nicki Green’s first museum solo exhibition delves into questions of identity, transformation, and reinvention of Jewish traditions through new and existing artworks in ceramic, installation, fiber, and more. Inspired by the concept of the firmament—a dividing form referenced in the Torah that separated the earth from the heavens—Green reimagines the gallery space as an environment of welcome and liberation centering trans and nonbinary bodies. Artworks rendered primarily in clay feature motifs that act as metaphors for regeneration, transformation, and resilience—concepts that have informed Jewish thinking and practice for thousands of years. By reclaiming parts of her Jewish upbringing, reinventing functional forms of ceramic objects, and reimagining ways of embracing different genders and sexualities, Green challenges and expands the binary limits of our society.

A photo of four ceramic figures made by artist Nicki Green

From left: Nicki Green, Drifting Upon Swollen Water (Gavriel), A Slack Unthreading (Raphael), Perforated in the Night (Uriel), Fruitful Vine 2 (Michael), 2024. Courtesy the artist and CULT Aimee Friberg.

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