Invitation to a Press Tour of Inside Out – Etgar Keret

19 October 2022, 10 am

Press Release, Wed 28 Sep 2022

Beginning on 21 October 2022, the Jewish Museum Berlin (JMB) will be presenting the exhibition Inside Out – Etgar Keret. Taking memories of his mother as his point of departure, the Israeli author Keret has written nine new short stories specifically for this exhibition, which will serve as their world premiere. With these short stories, Keret draws an explicit connection to the Jewish tradition of passing down memories from generation to generation. He recalls experiences he had with his mother, who was born in Poland in 1934, and recounts stories she told him as a child, including ordinary anecdotes but also traumatic wartime experiences and encounters with violence. The narrative voice alternates between the perspective of an adult and that of a child. Keret makes no claim that these literary writings depict reality or paint a complete picture of his mother. On the contrary, he emphasizes that such an attempt would be doomed to failure, and also wants the exhibition to illustrate the uncertain and fragmentary nature of his memory.

Kontakt: Dr. Margret Karsch
Press Officer
T +49 (0)30 259 93 419
presse@jmberlin.de
Address: Jewish Museum Berlin Foundation
Lindenstraße 9–14
10969 Berlin

The short stories will be presented alongside objects from the JMB collection selected by Etgar Keret as well as two installations, a piece of video art, and illustrations created by contemporary artists in collaboration with the author. Etgar Keret aims to defy museumgoers’ expectations with this exhibition. He has no intention of imparting information or explaining anything to them, but instead hopes to share partial and unverifiable memories of his late mother with them. Through the interplay of memories, objects, and art installations, the exhibition will forge evocative spaces that stir up feelings and associations.

All the stories will be available in the exhibition itself – and, after it opens, on the JMB website – in three languages, in both print and audio versions. Etgar Keret has recorded himself reading his pieces in Hebrew and English, and the award-winning writer Daniel Kehlmann has narrated the German translation. Kehlmann, a friend of Keret’s, will also participate in the exhibition’s accompanying event programming. The JMB will be hosting a discussion with them both, including a reading, on November 29, 2022. Two days prior, on 27 November 2022, Etgar Keret and his wife Shira Geffen will be present at the screening of the miniseries The Middleman (2019), which they co-wrote and co-directed. Two writing workshops incoporating an exhibition tour and lunch, on 20 November and 12 December, round out the accompanying program.

Preview and Press Tour of the Exhibition

Date	Wednesday, 19 October 2022
Preview time	10 am
Start time	11 am
Location	Eric F. Ross Gallery, ground floor of Libeskind Building
Participants	Etgar Keret, author; Hetty Berg, Director JMB
Language	The press tour will be held in German and English without an interpreter. Etgar Keret will speak in English.

Registration

Please confirm your attendance by emailing presse@jmberlin.de or calling +49 (0)30 259 93 419 by Tuesday, 18 October 2022 at the latest. If you have any interview requests, please also contact us by email or telephone.

Exhibition dates	21 October 2022 to 5 February 2023
Location	Jewish Museum Berlin, ground floor of Libeskind Building, Eric F. Ross Gallery
Admission	free with required time slot reservation
Opening hours	daily, 10 am to 7 pm