New director of the Jewish Museum

MEDIA RELEASE COURTESY OF: THE JEWISH MUSEUM

The Board of the Jewish Museum of Australia is delighted to announce the appointment of brilliant young scholar and curator Rebecca Forgasz as the next Director of the Museum, only the second appointment in the Museum’s 28 year history.

“After a lengthy and extensive search we are absolutely thrilled that Rebecca has won this prized position” says Negba Weiss-Dolev, President of the Museum’s Board. “Rebecca is an experienced curator and educator with long-standing personal and academic interests in Jewish studies and feminism, who in some senses is a product of the mentoring program put in place by recently retired Director Dr Helen Light.

Many in the community will have enjoyed Rebecca’s exhibitions, including the current show on Women in the Bible: Tricksters, Victors and (M)others, on show at the Museum until March 14 and earlier exhibitions Moses (1999 -2000), (On the Seventh Day - the Sabbath in Jewish Tradition (2002), DIASPORA: Homelands in Exile - Photographs by Frederic Brenner (2007) and New Under the Sun (2008).

Ms Weiss-Dolev said that the search, undertaken by Kathleen Townsend & Associates, brought to light some fantastic candidates, and confirmed a high level of respect for the Museum and interest in the role. “Rebecca was the best in a very strong field” she said “bringing her extensive knowledge of the Jewish community and her deep understanding of Judaism, along with her intellectual rigour, her curatorial experience and her recent experience in major organisations.”

Over the past decade, Ms Forgasz has been Exhibitions Manager at Public Record Office Victoria, the State Government archives, and project-managed the popular international exhibition The Medieval Imagination at the State Library of Victoria. For eight years Rebecca has also been a lecturer in the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School, an adult education program in Jewish studies originating from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and is regularly invited to speak at community and interfaith events on Judaism, the Bible and feminist issues.

“I am absolutely thrilled and honoured to have been appointed as Director of this fantastic museum” Rebecca said. “I am excited about the opportunity to pursue new avenues for the expression and presentation of Jewish culture and to develop new and creative ways for people to engage with Jewish traditions.”

Rebecca holds a Masters Degree in Jewish Studies from Oxford University and another in Women’s Studies from Monash University, as well as a Diploma of Education. She currently works in the Advancement Division at Monash University, where she is gaining experience in the field of fundraising and donor relations.

She will take up her new role as Director in April.