13.07.2010 | Old Synagogue, Essen

Today, the “House of Jewish Culture” reopens after two years of construction works. The new exhibition includes an interactive installation from ART+COM on the Jewish way of life.

Ten major international cities, including London, Buenos Aires and Kapstadt, are represented by icons on a touch-sensitive table. Maps of each city, with streets, rivers and parks, grow and vanish and thus motivate visitors to explore Jewish life through the installation.

By touching a city name, its respective map unfolds and shows interesting foci of Jewish culture like synagogues, kosher restaurants and grocery shops, Jewish sport clubs and other cultural organisations. A virtual magnifier serves as a navigation tool, zooming into the immediate environment and displaying information, text and pictures. The map data originate from the free internet mapping database OpenStreetMaps.

The federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia and numerous private sponsors contributed 7.8 million Euro to renovate the Old Synagogue and transform it into a place of encounter and learning. Norber Lammert, president of the German Bundestag and Essen's mayor, Reinhard Paß, will attend the opening ceremony.