Women And Design in the Modern Era. Studio Talk II
As Part of the Program Accompanying the Exhibition Defiance: Jewish Women and Design in the Modern Era
In Studio Talks I-III, exhibition 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.
The second studio talk explores experiences of exclusion and new beginnings through the examples of ceramicist Margarete Heymann-Lobenstein, dollmaker Maria Luiko, illustrator Käte Wolff, and others. On the panel, architect Ester Bruzkus, comic artist Nathalie Frank, and puppet maker Shlomit Tripp engage in a conversation.
Past event
Where
W. M. Blumenthal Academy,
Klaus Mangold Auditorium
Fromet-und-Moses-Mendelssohn-Platz 1, 10969 Berlin
(Opposite the Museum)
Im zweiten Ateliergespräch geht es am Beispiel der Keramikerin Margarete Heymann-Lobenstein, der Puppenmacherin Maria Luiko, der Illustratorin Käte Wolff und anderen um die Erfahrung von Ausschluss und Aufbruch. Auf dem Panel tauschen sich die Architektin Ester Bruzkus, die Comiczeichnerin Nathalie Frank und die Puppenmacherin Shlomit Tripp aus.
Ester Bruzkus; photo: Debora Mittelstädt
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.
Shlomit Tripp; bubales, photo: Gershom Tripp
Zentrale Themen wie die mehrfache Marginalisierung als selbständige jüdische Frauen in Handwerk, Gestaltung, Design und Mode erscheinen heute nicht weniger aktuell als vor 100 Jahren. Sie knüpfen an aktuelle, internationale Diskurse um Gender und jüdische Perspektiven, Fluchterfahrung und Selbstbestimmung an.
Nathalie Frank; photo: Anika Seecker
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 audio resources relating to the exhibition 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: Important places where the Jewish designers lived and worked on our interactive map
- Do you know Eva Samuel?: How the research for the exhibition took off
- Small Puppets – Strong Women: community project accompanying the exhibition (in German)
- Objects from the exhibition in our collection online in German
See also
- Paper doll based on a costume design by Dodo (1907–1998): Create your own movable paper doll!
- Beaded bracelet based on a design by Emma Trietsch (1876–1933): Make your own beaded bracelet!
- Fashion paper doll based on designs by Irene Saltern (1911–2005): Dress your own fashion paper doll!
- Jewish Women Ceramists from Germany after 1933: Online feature on Google Arts & Culture, in German
