Bradford Reform Synagogue

Collecting Jewish Life

Items acquired by the Jewish Museum London are presented in this three-part exhibition, each focusing on an individual initiative. One features photographs of Jewish everyday life (Collecting Inclusive Stories), celebrating the diverse identities within the religion in modern society; another showcases the impact 7 October has had on British Jews (Documenting the Present); and the third, Reflections, portrays audiences’ reactions to the stories expressed within the museum’s collections.

Until 13 November

BD1 3BW. www.bradfordsynagogue.co.uk 

Dean Clough, Halifax

Kehillah

Muslim Pakistani-British photographer Nudrat Afza has spent several years documenting the decline in Bradford’s Jewish community, culminating in a new book and exhibition. Kehillah (Hebrew for congregation) features pictures of people, architecture, cemeteries, services and more. One of the success stories covered is Bradford Reform Synagogue, now the only synagogue in the city. The Grade II-listed building faced risk of closure in 2011 when its leaking roof required repairs that its members couldn’t afford. The story was shared and the Muslim community stepped in with donations that, along with a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant, ensured the survival of the synagogue. Read more about Kehillah in the Summer issue of JR.

Until 19 October

HX3 5AX. www.deanclough.com

Holocaust Centre North, Huddersfield

Through Our Eyes

This is an interactive multimedia exhibition driven by survivor testimony, focusing on 16 children and young people who survived Nazi persecution across Europe in the 1930s and 1940s. See personal photos, artefacts and documents, together with an original prisoner uniform and other items from the concentration camps at Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora. The survivors reveal their experience of discrimination, persecution, escape, hiding, ghettos, forced labour, concentration camps and liberation.

No end date specified

HD1 3DH. 01484 471939. www.hcn.org.uk

Thirsk Hall Sculpture Garden

Sculptures from the Ben Uri Museum

In Thirsk Hall’s first museum project, major works by Jewish émigré artists are displayed. This exhibition of sculptures includes the head of Albert Einstein by Jacob Epstein, which was created after the sculptor fled Nazi Germany for a beach hut in Norfolk.

Until 18 September

YO7 1PL. www.thirskhall.com  

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

William Kentridge: The Pull of Gravity

In the first exhibition of William Kentridge’s sculpture outside of South Africa, the Yorkshire Sculpture Park presents over 40 works by the Jewish artist. The Pull of Gravity takes audiences on a multisensory journey into Kentridge’s world, using a variety of materials, including metals, paper, plaster, wood and found objects. Alongside the pieces, a series of short films will be shown across 20 metres of screens that wrap around viewers, revealing an insight into Kentridge’s studio and the workings of his mind. Read more about William Kentridge’s work in the Spring 2025 issue of JR.

Until 19 April

WF4 4JX. www.ysp.org.uk