On the 18th April, 1996 the exhibition “And I Still See Their Faces…” premiered in Warsaw’s Zachęta Gallery. Ever since, this unusual exhibition prepared by the Shalom Foundation has been travelling around the world.

When in 1994 Gołda Tencer, the General Director of the Foundation, called for the photographs of Polish Jews to be sent in, she never expected that the response would be as big. The photographs, aged, a bit damaged, kept on the attics and dug out of the ruins, hundreds of them kept coming from big cities, small towns and villages.

Her name was Taube or Tauber or maybe Tauberg. I remember the name from my mother’s stories – wrote the citizen of Lublin. The sepia photograph features young woman, smiling. She holds a sleeping baby, wrapped in a scarf, and holds the hand of a small girl wearing white dress and corals. She is also accompanied by four, a bit older children wearing simple clothes. The family poses in front of the house. The photograph was most probably taken right after the birth of the youngest child (between 1934 and 1937), by the happy father. We don’t know what happened to them…

50 years after the Holocaust, thanks to the involvement of Polish families and Jews, it was possible to bring back the memory of the absent. From among 9000 photographs, several hundred photos were selected for the exhibition “And I Still See Their Faces…” Ever since, the exhibition has been visiting various places around the world. It was presented by nearly 50 museums in Los Angeles, Mexico City, Jerusalem, San Jose, St. Petersburg, Hamburg, Paris, London, Madrid, Vilnius, Buenos Aires, Porto, Grenoble, Lyon and Toronto. Everywhere it is received with a warm welcome; it brings back the forgotten world and the history of Polish Jews. Its importance is proved by the enthusiastic reviews of the New York’s edition published twice by The New York Times and the exhibition was extended six times (!) (instead of one month, the exhibition was open for half a year).

The exhibition is exceptional because of its universal character. Photographs of Polish Jews are seen not only by the people who visit the museums of the European cities but also citizens of small towns such as Tykocin or Szamotuły. It happens because we all keep seeing Their faces and keep hearing Their voices…

1. Warsaw, Zachęta Contemporary Art Gallery, 18 April 1996;
2. Kraków, Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Sztuk Pięknych, 12 July 1996;
3. Frankfurt am Men, Jüdisches Museum, 26 January 1997;
4. Łódź, Łódź City History Museum, 26 May 1997;
5. Los Angeles, The Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance, 12 November 1997;
6. Paris, Memorial Du Martyr Juif Inconnu, 8 April 1998;
7. Detroit, Holocaust Memorial Center, 10 May, 1998;
8. Mexico City, Museum San Ildefonso, 24 June, 1998;
9. Jerusalem, Yad Vashem, 1 July 1998;
10. Chicago, The Polish Museum of America, 28 January 1999;
11. Munich, Müncher Rathauses, 7 February 1999;
12. San Petersburg, Florida Holocaust Museum, 25 April 1999;
13. Hamburg, Die Neue Gesellschaft, 26 May 1999;
14. Boston, Boston University Hillel, 13 September 1999;
15. Poznań, U Jezuitów Gallery, 21 February 2000;
16. Lancaster, Franklin and Marshall College, 25 January 2001;
17. St. Petersburg, The Exhibition Centre of the St. Petersburg’s Artists Association, 15 May 2001;
18. Brussels, Musee Juif de Belgique, 25 October 2001;
19. Prague, Galerie Novoměstkó Radnice, 6 January 2002;
20. Hague, Raadzaal van de gemeente Den Haag / Council Room (Raadzaal) of the City Hall, The Hague, 25 April 2003;
21. San Jose, Costa Rica, El Museo de Los Ninos, 29 April 2003;
22. Vilnius, Valstybinis Vilniaus Gaono Żydų muziejus / The Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum, 22 September 2003;
23. Buenos Aires, “Casa de la Cultura” del Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires,” 9 October 2003;
24. Montreal, City Hall, Main Hall – Hôtel de Ville, 5 November 2003;
25. Toronto, Allen Lambert Galleria, BCE Place, 1 September 2004;
26. Aix-les-Bains (Casino Grand Cercle), 4 November 2004;
27. Lyon (Merostwo 3-go arrondissement), 20 January 2005;
28. Grenoble (Ancien Musée), 3 February 2005;
29. Warsaw, National Art Gallery Zachęta, 5 September 2006;
30. New York, Yeshiva University Museum, 1 March 2007;
31. Świecie, Teutonic Castle, 12 May 2007;
32. Gdańsk, New Synagogue in Gdańsk Wrzeszcz, 22 July 2007;
33. London, London City Hall, 14 January 2008;
34. Sieradz, Catholic House of All Saints Parish, 16 January 2009;
35. Opole, Opole Symphony Hall of J. Elsner, 7 May 2009;
36. Kraków, Wysoka Synagogue, 28 June 2009;
37. Kraków, Kraków’s Opera House, 27 January 2010;
38. Zielona Góra, Lubuskie Region Museum, 26 January 2011;
39. Koszalin, Museum in Koszalin, 18 April 2011;
40. Tykocin, Museum in Tykocin, 19 May 2011;
41. Bytom, Upper Silesia Museum, 5 October 2011;
42. Madrid, Palacio de Canete, (Sefarad-Israel), 19 January 2012;
43. Szamotuły, Górków Castle Museum, 26 January 2012;
44. Radom, Jacek Malczewski Museum, branch, Contemporary Art Museum, 18 April 2012;
45. Porto, Centro Português de Fotografia, 22 April 2012;
46. Mursja (Spain), Universidad de Murcia, 10 September 2012;
47. Włodawa, Small Synagogue, 5 October 2012;
48. Białystok, Podlaska Symphony Hall and Opera House – European Art Center, 6 March 2013;
49. Bytów, Zachodniokaszubskie Museum, 24 May 2013;
50. Barcelona, Muzeum Historii Katalonii in Barcelona, 19 June 2013;
51. Płock, Museum of the Jews of Masovia, 5 December 2013;
52. Catalonia (Spain), Katedra Castelló d’Empúries, 11 October 2014;
[Spanish version of the exhibition was co-funded by the Institute of Adam Mickiewicz (www.iam.pl)]
53. Warsaw, Jewish Theatre in Warsaw, 26 October 2014;
54. Kielce, Instytut Kultury Spotkania i Dialogu Stowarzyszenia im. Jana Karskiego, 24 April 2015;
55. La Seu d’Urgell (Spain), Parador de La Seu d’Urgell hotel, 23 June 2015.
[Spanish version of the exhibition was co-funded by the Institute of Adam Mickiewicz (www.iam.pl)]
56. Otwarcie wystawy w Calonge (Hiszpania) w Capella del Carme na Costa Brava
[Spanish version of the exhibition was co-funded by the Institute of Adam Mickiewicz (www.iam.pl)]
57. Otwarcie wystawy w Gironie (Hiszpania), w Museum of Jewish History
[Spanish version of the exhibition was co-funded by the Institute of Adam Mickiewicz (www.iam.pl)]

The exhibition of the photographies of the Polish Jews „And I Keep Seeing Their Faces…” likes to travel! Invite it to your city!

Would you like to host the exhibition? Read the necessary information and if you still have questions, write to us.

1) What should the host know about the exhibition in order to make it feel good at his/her place?
The host should know the subject of the exhibition, have good will and at least 200-300 m2 of free space.

2) Isn’t the exhibition tired because constant travelling?
On the contrary! The exhibition likes to travel, it easily interacts with people in cities and towns, it likes to visit new places.

3) How about foreign languages? How does the exhibition do outside of Poland?
Photographs of Polish Jews have already visited more than 50 places. They were in New York, Porto, Mexico, Jerusalem, San Jose, St. Petersburg, Hamburg, Paris, London, Madrid, Vilnius, Buenos Aires, Grenoble, Lyon and Toronto. It speaks Polish, English and Spanish.

4) How much does it weigh?
It depends. When it travels by plane and is packed in big, wooden boxes, it weighs ca. 700 kilograms. It is half less when it is transported by road or rail. Then, the panels are wrapped in foil.

5) How long does it take to assembly the exhibition?
The exhibition is made of smaller and bigger panels: there are 4 information panels in frames (90×120 cm), 88 construction panels (50 pieces seizing 140×30 cm and 38 pieces of 90×70 cm), as well as 1090 connectors for panels. pieces). Assembly usually takes 2 days. The works are supervised by the architect who will need two assistants. Disassembly is performed by you, according to our guidelines.

6) How much does it cost to rent the exhibition?
The Foundation does not collect any fee for renting the exhibition. The host is obliged to pay the cost connected with organization. Details are provided here.

Details:
Organizer is obliged to:
1. Cover the remuneration of the designer of the exhibition amounting to PLN 3000 net and the cost of his travel and accomodation;
2. Ensure a projector and DVD and CD players, screen and glass shelf for the items from ghetto to be displayed during the exhibition presentation;
3. Print and send invitations to the exhibition, and potentially promotional posters upon Shalom Foundation’s acceptance of the designs;
4. Light the exhibition;
5. Organize official opening of the exhibition;
6. Rent exhibition halls including service (guards) within set dates;
7. Assembly and disassembly the exhibition;
8. Transport the exhibition from the seat of the Shalom Foundation (Warsaw) to the destination place and back to Warsaw or other place indicated by the Shalom Foundation after the exhibition is finished.
9. Provide sound system in the exhibition hall (music shall be provided by the Shalom Foundation);
10. Organize photo service and, if possible, record the opening;
11. Insure the exhibition for the duration of the assembly, exhibition, disassembly and transportation;
12. Adapt the exhibition hall and make construction elements that make the assembly of the exhibition feasible in the place indicated by the Organizer.