Finnish and Jewish: Photographs by Dina Kantor will be on display July 14 through Sept. 22 in the Tychman Shapiro Gallery at the Sabes JCC, 4330 Cedar Lake Rd. S., St. Louis Park. The exhibit will explore the intersection of Judaism and Finnish culture.
A public reception will take place 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 14, with an artist talk at 7 p.m.
New York-based artist Dina Kantor began photographing the members of the small Jewish community in Finland in January 2006. Her work seeks to understand how Judaism survives in a country of 5.3 million people, where there are only 1,500 Jews and just two synagogues.
A new exhibit of work by photographer Dina Kantor focuses on members of the small Jewish community in Finland. (Photo: Dina Kantor)
The exhibit, which serves as a visual record of how the Jews there maintain their cultural identity, explores how Finnish Jews live, work and practice their religious traditions in today’s increasingly complex and multicultural society.
Kantor was born and raised in Minneapolis. Through this exhibit, she also explores the personal significance of what it means to have both Finnish and Jewish roots.
In conjunction with this exhibit, the Saana Ensemble, a vocal group made up of five native Finns who now live in the Twin Cities and perform Finnish music, will perform 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 7 at the JCC.
For information, contact Robyn Awend, the JCC’s visual arts director, at 952-381-3416 or: rawend@sabesjcc.org, or visit: www.sabesjcc.org.
(American Jewish World, 7.8.11)
