International event of contemporary Jewish art will bring artists from the USA, Poland, Israel and Canada to Trenčín
The first ever Biennial of Contemporary Jewish Art with the subtitle Yiddish Cosmos will take place from 12 to 16 June 2025 at the Trenčín Synagogue. The event takes place as part of the HaNahar Jewish Culture Festiva and the Trenčín 2026 European Capital of Culture project. Thanks to this initiative, the city of Trenčín and the local community is involved in the European Jewish Heritage Routes. More information about the programme can be found here.
International platform for artistic reflection
The Biennale of Contemporary Jewish Art – Yiddish Cosmos offers not only a curatorial selection of artworks but also a conceptual framework for long-term re-evaluation of cultural memory in response to the challenges of the present. Under the leadership of curator Tamara Moyzes (SK/CZ) and co-curator Shlomi Yaffe (IL/CZ), internationally acclaimed artists of Jewish descent Yevgeniy Fiks (USA), Zuzanna Hertzberg (PL) and the Sala-Manca artistic duo Lea Mauas & Diego Rotman (AR/IL), currently based in Canada, will present their works.
The subtitle Yiddish Cosmos refers to Yevgeniy Fiks’ concept of the cosmos as a symbolic space where a secular, pluralistic and diasporic Jewish identity can take shape. In his project, Fiks explores the cosmos as a homeland for Jews, interpreting the Yiddish language as a medium of imagination, resistance, and technological progress. The exhibition, performances and discussions will take place in the renovated Trenčín synagogue – a space that is gaining new cultural life.
A critical look at memory and the present
“The Biennial of Contemporary Jewish Art – Yiddish Cosmos offers not only a curated selection of artworks, but also a conceptual framework for a long-term reassessment of cultural memory that responds to the challenges of the present. It opens a space for art that does not build on the representation of the past as a closed chapter, but understands it as a living, fragmented and shared process – with the potential for political imagination, social renewal and resistance. At a time when memory is abused and plurality is threatened, the Trenčín Biennial becomes a laboratory for the creative recontextualisation of Jewish heritage, which points not only to the past but especially to the future of shared coexistence,” says curator Tamara Moyzes.
HaNahar Festival and connecting the region
The Biennial will be part of the extended programme of of the HaNahar Jewish Culture Festival (June 8–22): The River that Connects, which runs from 8 to 22 June in Nové Mesto nad Váhom, Piešt’any, Beckov, Čachtice, Moravské Lieskov and for the first time also in Trenčín. The symbol of the connection between the locations is the Váh River – the carrier of movement and memory.
In addition to the exhibitions, visitors in Trenčín can expect a performance by the Polish artist Zuzanna Hertzberg reminiscent of the stories of Jewish-Ukrainian anarchists or a visual-sound work by the Sala-Manca group about Yiddish culture and the Israeli context. It will also include interviews with the artists and discussions with the authors.
Identity renewal and openness
The project Trenčín 2026 – European Capital of Culture aims to renew the Jewish context of the region and to promote openness towards minority cultures. As project manager Mária Janušová reminds: “Today’s times call for new ways to grasp and present memory. It is not about nostalgia, but about contemporary art that tells stories in the context of today and creates new common spaces of understanding and belonging.”
Trenčín 2026 is financially supported by the City of Trenčín, the Trenčín Self-Governing Region and the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic. The project partner is the European Union.
