Exhibitions

#Fake Images is a reduced version of the eponymous exhibition presented last year by the Kazerne Dossin in Mechelen. It is based on a selection of unique documents, prints and objects from Arthur Langerman’s collection, showing the disconcerting evolution of antisemitic thinking in Europe. Visitors will find out how ‘the Jew’ has been presented down the centuries as an enemy and evil-doer and reflect on the effect propaganda and imagery have on us. What techniques are used the world over to manipulate people’s attitudes? And why are we so susceptible to them? Even more importantly, how can we react effectively to propaganda, ‘fake news’ and stereotypical images?

Media coverage

Newsletter Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life: „The exhibition #FakeImages displayed at the European Commission premises“ (2 December 2022)

For those who had looked into the abyss of the all-destroying fire, Knokke became their first post-war holiday resort, a sounding board for emotional memories. Monsieur Motke Weinberger, a Jewish pastry chef who was active in the resistance and saved countless lives, took care of that. After WWII he built the Grand Hôtel in Knokke into a meeting place for the Antwerp Jews.

This exhibition not only offers you an insight into the life of Motke Weinberger and a look at one of the iconic hotels in Knokke-Heist, but also shows some unique anti-Semitic cartoons from the collection of Arthur Langerman.

The free exhibition can be viewed from May 5 until June 18 in the Scharpoord library, Maxim Willemspad 1, 8300 Knokke-Heist, Belgium.

From 15 October 2021 to 3 June 2022, the Jewish Museum of Belgium is presenting its new educational project “Caricatured Images of Jews Throughout History. Outline of an Unusual Collection.”

Through an overview of the extraordinary collection assembled by Arthur Langerman, a Belgian from Antwerp, who was born in the middle of the Second World War, it gives an insight into the collective madness that is visual antisemitism, a phenomenon that is followed across different continents and over several centuries. From pagan and religious anti-Judaism to social and political antisemitism, this didactic project presents a new and striking look at the representation of Jews from the Middle Ages to the present day and the stereotypes attached to them.

The presentation of facsimiles is made up of paintings, engravings, wooden statuettes, photographs, archives, posters, postcards, as well as unusual objects such as beer mugs, coin banks, enameled signs, ashtrays, and matchboxes. While offering images from all over the world, the designers have chosen to put a particular focus on “Belgian” illustrations: from the alleged desecration of the hosts in Brussels (1370) to the textile vignettes made by some of the actors of the Aalst Carnival.

The panels are accompanied by objects and archival material from the collections of the Jewish Museum of Belgium. Finally, a video module dedicated to the collector Arthur Langerman offers a glimpse into his personal history, shedding light on his atypical career and his motivation, driven by the duty to remember.

The Jewish Museum of Belgium is presenting this project as part of its Educational Service, which has been approved by the Democracy or Barbarism department of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. Through guided tours, the educational service proposes to examine the use of stereotypes, yesterday and today. Our “Let’s meet a Jew” workshops, in particular the activity “Myths and Stereotypes,” will be offered in conjunction with this educational exhibition and includes the possibility of organizing a meeting with a witness of the Shoah.

For more information: https://www.mjb-jmb.org/regards-sur-limagerie-caricaturale-des-juifs-dans-lhistoire-esquisse-dune-collection-insolite/

The exhibition Plume de fiel, Images de haine. Esquisse d’une collection insolite (Venomous Pens, Images of Hatred. An Overview of an Unusual Collection) is being conceived at the request of the Centre Communautaire Laïc Juif (Brussels) as part of the homage to be paid to the collector Arthur Langerman, elected “Mensch de l’année 2020”(“Mensch of the Year, 2020”) for his tireless commitment in the duty of memory of antisemitic persecution and transmission of this knowledge to the young generation.

The various images selected from the collection provide a glimpse of the collective madness of visual antisemitism, a centuries-old and global phenomenon. Although the designers have chosen to focus on “Belgian” illustrations, the public will also discover images from all geographical origins illustrating the general concepts and the different currents of antisemitism.

A video module, entirely dedicated to the collector, offers to discover snippets of his personal history providing insights into an atypical journey and the motivation deployed throughout the process of acquiring the works.

For more information: cclj.be/agenda/exposition-plume-fiel-images-haine-esquisse-collection-insolite

Media coverage
RTBF: L’image antisémite à travers le temps, à voir au CCLJ à Bruxelles (7 October 2020)
The Times of Israel: Arthur Langerman et sa collection d’objets antisémites, au CCLJ de Bruxelles (15 October 2020)

The exhibition MONOCULTURE – A Recent History begins from the principle that any understanding of ‘multiculture’, should necessitate an investigation of ‘monoculture’. The societal understanding of monoculture can be defined as the homogeneous expression of the culture of a single social or ethnic group. The project seeks to approach the notion of monoculture with an open mind. It will thus aim for an analysis of, rather than an antithesis to, monoculture, approaching it not only from historical, social, cultural and ideological perspectives, but also philosophical, linguistic and agricultural ones. MONOCULTURE will provide a tentative mapping, allowing for a comparative analysis of different manifestations of monoculture, as well as their reflections in art and propaganda, seeking to draw some conclusions that might be relevant for society and culture at large.

For more information: https://www.muhka.be/programme/detail/1439-monoculture-a-recent-history