Welcome to Jerusalem tells the story of Jerusalem from different but interwoven perspectives: the city as a holy place for three monotheistic religions for two thousand years and the city as a political battle field between power and territory. Each of the 15 spaces has a different theme such as ‘Pilgrims’, ‘Buried in Jerusalem’ and ‘The Ottoman city’. For all the themes, that show the different faces of the city, we designed dedicated theatrical settings. One of the themed spaces exudes pure white sanctity to highlight the religious stories of the Holy City while another uses film and oversized images to show the role of hotels in political power struggles. The multilayered design of this exhibition is completed by a rich collection of historic and contemporary pieces.
Juxtaposing voices
Jewish Museum Berlin (DE)
The Jewish Museum Berlin remains active during reconstruction of the Libeskind extension. In the Baroque Old Building, the entrance to the museum, Kossmanndejong designed a new temporary feature exhibition entitled Welcome to Jerusalem, the museum’s largest yet. Visitors take a journey of discovery through a series of spaces on the first floor where the immersive, layered design tangibly communicates the ambivalent character of the city.
Intimate contemporary and special historic film material immerses visitors in the colourful character but also complexity of Jerusalem. In the space dedicated to ‘Conflicts’ a 360-degree film installation paints a gripping picture of the cycles of increasingly complex conflicts. A different setting in another space provides insights into the ever- changing borders of the city using historic maps and film projections.
The multimedia installation ‘Augmented Temple’ (designed by Berlin-based multimedia design studio ART+COM) combines augmented reality films and projections onto a large-scale model of the temple to bring the destroyed Jewish temple on Temple Mount back to life.
For this explosive topic, different perspectives on the story are very important. Personal, film encounters with current residents of the city function as the connecting elements of Welcome to Jerusalem. The characters of all different ages and diverse religious and political backgrounds are part of the documentary ‘24 Hours Jerusalem’ by Berlin film director Volker Heise. These personalities offer visitors a real-time image of the life and often conflicting ideas in and about this turbulent city. The exhibition has been visited by more than 350,000 people.