People have many ways to mourn. Channeling grief into creativity—by making something that can be seen, or heard, or read—can be comforting and healing. And for the viewer, the listener, the reader, these expressions can be equally moving. In the weeks following October 7, ANU curator Michal Houminer and independent curator Carmit Blumensohn assembled and installed a temporary exhibition at the museum, a visual commentary on the Hamas attacks and their aftermath. October Seventh: A Space of Anguish, Loss, Anger, Memory and Sorrow showcases the work of 25 Israeli artists. Some pieces are reactions to the attacks, and several are earlier works by artists who were killed on October 7 or died subsequently. As Houminer observes, “Artists are given to uniquely responding to and portraying the events of the day, interpreting and articulating our collective memory.”

The family of Jonathan Chazon, the 33rd Israeli soldier killed in the conflict following October 7, was deeply touched to have their son’s artwork, and his legacy, honored at ANU.

An installation in the lobby at ANU introduces visitors to Inbar Haiman, a young graffiti artist who signed her work PINK, a color she loved for its optimism. A student at the NB Haifa School of Design, Inbar volunteered at the Nova Music Festival and was taken hostage by Hamas. Her death in captivity was announced on December 16.

A short video montage made by Inbar Haiman’s friends is part of the exhibition; even if you don’t speak Hebrew, you can sense Inbar’s aliveness, until you see the stark pink graffiti painted alongside the highway: FREE PINK.

Houminer and Blumensohn also compiled a playlist of songs to represent the collective voice of the Israeli people. Titled The Pain Front, it presents the music of over 20 Israeli musicians and groups. Houminer comments, “The exhibition’s soundtrack is comprised of songs we have heard since October 7. Many are familiar songs that the war has charged with new meaning.” You can listen to the soundtrack on Spotify, and even if you can’t understand the words, the music and the voices are wistful, hopeful, heartfelt. 

ANU has developed two ways of extending the exhibition’s reach. A 45-minute online tour of the installation is narrated in English by a museum educator. A two-minute preview shows the scale and gravitas of the exhibition. A capsule version of the exhibition is also available for installation—a set of high-resolution files that organizations can print out and mount to present October Seventh in their own communities, with the option of using the playlist to deepen the experience.

In June, the Jewish Culture Festival in Kraków (a longtime Koret grantee) displayed the capsule version of October Seventh throughout the week-long festival. Robert Gadek, the festival’s deputy director, recalls, “When the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is one of our funders, told us that October Seventh at ANU could be exhibited anywhere in the world, it was obvious to us that we wanted to do this. We installed it in the High Synagogue, next to our main festival venue, and we played the soundtrack ANU had made in a continuous loop.” Gadek adds, “We follow the activities of ANU, and we are planning a closer collaboration with them.”

The October Seventh exhibition opened at ANU at the end of February 2024; no closing date has been scheduled.