Women And Design in the Modern Era. Studio Talk I
As part of the program accompanying the exhibition Defiance: Jewish Women and Design in the Modern Era
In Studio Talks I-III, curator Michal S. Friedlander and moderator Shelly Kupferberg will present the life stories and experiences of German-Jewish women in the applied arts, putting them in dialogue with contemporary female designers in Berlin.
Mon 29 Sep 2025, 6.30 pm
Where
W. M. Blumenthal Academy,
Klaus Mangold Auditorium
Fromet-und-Moses-Mendelssohn-Platz 1, 10969 Berlin
(Opposite the Museum)
The first studio talk will focus on silversmith Emmy Roth, industrial designer Paula Straus, and illustrator Tom Seidmann-Freud.
The Studio Talks I-III series sheds light on the historical challenges faced by German-Jewish women and their struggle for self-determination amid the tension between Jewish culture and tradition and majority society. These women were pioneers who founded their own businesses and found creative ways to market and distribute their products. Themes such as the marginalization of independent Jewish women in crafts, design, and fashion remain relevant today as they did 100 years ago. These themes tie in with current international discourses on gender, Jewish perspectives, flight, and self-determination.
Defiance: Jewish Women and Design in the Modern Era
- Exhibition Webpage
- Defiance: Jewish Women and Design in the Modern Era (11 Jul to 23 Nov 2025): visual and auditive insights into the exhibition themes and information in German Sign Language
- Publications
- Exhibition catalog: 2025, in German
- Digital Content
- Jewish Women and Design in the Modern Era: All biographies at a glance
- Jewish Places: Information on the designers’ work and study locations on our interactive map
- Puppet Show, Menu Card, Children's Book: Digital copies accompanying the exhibition (in German)
- Paper doll based on a costume design by Dodo (1907–1998): Do it yourself – create your own movable paper doll!
- Fashion paper doll based on designs by Irene Saltern (1911–2005): Do it yourself – dress your own fashion paper doll!
- Beaded bracelet based on a design by Emma Trietsch (1876–1933): Do it yourself – make your own thread bracelet!
- Do you know Eva Samuel?: How the research for the exhibition took off
- Small Puppets – Strong Women: community project accompanying the exhibition (in German)
- Guided Tours
- Public Tour in German: tour with fixed dates
- Public Tour in English: tour with fixed dates
- Guided Tour & Brunch: tour with fixed dates
- Bookable Tour for Groups and Schools: tour by appointment
- Accompanying Events
- Exhibition Opening: Thu, 10 Jul 2025, 7 pm (exhibition open to visitors from 5 pm)
- Pioneering women of the 1920s – artistic research from the Modeschule Berlin at the JMB: Public presenation, Thu 17 Jul 2025, 2pm
- Summer Party at the JMB with free admission, workshops and more – Sun, 20 Jul 2025, 2 pm
- Creative Love! Long Night of Museums – Sun, 30 Aug 2025, starting 6 pm
- Current page: Studio Talk I – Mon 29 Sep 2025, 6.30 pm
- See also
- Jewish Women Ceramists from Germany after 1933: Online feature on Google Arts & Culture, in German
