Changing Exhibitions
The changing exhibition gallery, in the name of Janet and Yehuda Asia, located on the second floor, is the most dynamic part of the museum. The gallery primarily hosts exhibitions featuring contemporary artwork, photography and design. The gallery space is a home for artists either born in Iraq or of second-generation Iraqi descent as well as for artists whose work relates to the history and culture of Babylonian Jewry.
The changing exhibition gallery, in the name of Marcelle Battat (Sehayek Family), is located on the entrance level. Ethnographic and Judaica exhibitions are displayed in this gallery.
Oded Halachmi – Hanukah Menorahs
From December, 2012
Place: The Marcelle Battat Gallery
The exhibition presents unique Hanukah Menorahs created by sculptor Oded Halachmi. The designs of these Hanukah Menorahs were inspired by motifs which the artist remembered from his youth, including: the pomegranate, a symbol of love and fruitfulness; amulets, such as the Hamsa (hand) and the Saba Iyun (seven eyes) against the evil eye; and the date palm. In some of the sculptures, the recurring theme of the Hebrew letter Shin, the first letter of the Hebrew word for peace – Shalom, represents the artist’s longing for peace in the Middle East.
Women, Laws and Everything in Between
From March 19, 2015
Place: The Janet and Yehuda Asia Gallery
For hundreds of years, men in Europe and Iraq wrote various works aimed at instructing women and girls regarding the principles of proper behavior - from childhood through old age. This exhibition familiarises the visitor with the changes which Jewish women in Iraq experienced over time. These changes offer a glance at the gradually increasing degree of freedom which women dared to allow themselves in the 1940s; at first covertly, joining the underground pioneer Zionist movement, and later publicly.