Join Chaskel Tydor Curatorial Intern, Anna Matveeva, and Professor Judy Tydor Baumel-Schwartz for a discussion of the Chaskel Tydor Curatorial Internship and Anna’s research at the Museum.
In this talk, Anna will explore Holocaust art as a means of processing trauma, focusing on select pieces from the Museum’s collection. Through discussing these artworks, she will examine how visual expression serves as both a personal and collective response to historical trauma. The talk will then shift to Charlotte Salomon’s Life? or Theatre?, a remarkable series of gouaches that blend painting, text, and music into a deeply personal narrative. Anna will argue that Salomon’s work not only allowed her to confront her own experiences but also served as a way to overcome generational trauma—ultimately, demonstrating how storytelling through art can be a path to healing.
Anna Matveeva, originally from Russia, recently relocated to New York and earned her B.A. in Russian and Eurasian Studies from Bard College. Her research explores Soviet underground art and literature, as well as trauma and memory studies. This fall, she will pursue a Master’s in Library Science at McGill University, focusing on archives and the preservation of cultural heritage.
Professor Judy Tydor Baumel-Schwartz is the Director of the Arnold and Leona Finkler Institute of Holocaust Research, the Abraham and Edita Spiegel Family Professor in Holocaust Research, the Rabbi Pynchas Brener Professor in Research on the Holocaust of European Jewry, and Professor of Modern Jewish History in the Israel and Golda Koschitzky Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry at Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel. She is the Consulting Historian and Curator of the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York.
The Chaskel Tydor Curatorial Internship is awarded to one student twice annually, who should be engaged in scholarship in Holocaust Studies, Jewish History and/or Studies, European History, Museum Studies, or related fields. Interns work closely with the Collections and Exhibitions Department, meet with object donors to welcome new objects into the Collection, and host public programs as part of the Museum’s adult education initiatives to provide insight into the Museum’s curatorial and scholarly work. As the benefactor of the internship, the Museum’s new Consulting Historian and Curator, Professor Judy Tydor Baumel-Schwartz, will mentor interns participating in the program.
Image credit: “Protective Custody,” by William Sharp, New York, NY. Gift of Ruth Sharp, 82.92.