Jewish life in present-day Germany is diverse. This diversity can also be seen in the art produced by young Jews. Dagesh* makes this diversity visible without necessarily assuming that there exists some manner of harmonious Jewish pluralism. It is about creatively trying out and staging something new.
Dagesh on Tour is a nation-wide educational programme for young people that deals critically with antisemitism and racism. It is a part of Kultur macht stark. Bündnisse für Bildung, a programme initiated by the BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research). It uses Jewish contemporary art as a vehicle for cultural and political education.
Dagesh straddles the intersection of cultural and political education. As a platform and network, Dagesh supports young Jewish artists and provides a space for voices and forms of expression seeking to (re-)define a contemporary and future-oriented Jewish self-understanding and self-confidence in Germany. Its goal is to close the gap to contemporary Jewish life using artistic works about and confrontations between various Jewish perspectives on and positions toward our society.
*The dagesh is a dot, a small square at the centre of letters in the Hebrew and Yiddish alphabet. It has no meaning on its own but can change the meanings of words by shifting emphases. Art seeks to do the same: set accents and shift understandings.
Programme's website