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.
In the second studio talk, the ceramist Margarete Heymann-Lobenstein, the doll maker Maria Luiko and the illustrator Käte Wolff will be used as examples to explore the experience of exclusion and new beginnings.
Wed 15 Oct 2025, 6.30 pm
Where
W. M. Blumenthal Academy,
Klaus Mangold Auditorium
Fromet-und-Moses-Mendelssohn-Platz 1, 10969 Berlin
(Opposite the Museum)
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.
Who is Grete Loebenstein?
Grete Loebenstein/Margarete Heymann-Loebenstein, later Marks (1899–1990), student of the Bauhaus, ceramic designer, co-founder of the Haël Workshops for Artistic Ceramics, emigrated to England in 1936
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)
- Objects from the exhibition in our collection online: Description in German
- 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
- Studio Talk I: Mon 29 Sep 2025, 6.30 pm
- Current page: Studio Talk II: Wed 15 Oct 2025, 6.30 pm
- Studio Talk III: Wed 5 Nov 2025, 6.30 pm
- Guided Tours
- Public Tour in German: tour with fixed dates
- Public Tour in English: tour with fixed dates
- Public Tour in Hebrew – tour with fixed dates
- Guided Tour & Brunch: tour with fixed dates
- Bookable Tour for Groups and Schools: Tour by appointment
- See also
- Jewish Women Ceramists from Germany after 1933: Online feature on Google Arts & Culture, in German
