Exhibitions at the Magnes
Nancy Lee Katz: A Private Pantheon Exhibition (2026-27). Photo by Kelly Keltos and Devlin Shand for Drew Altizer Photography.
On Display at the Magnes
The exhibitions of the Magnes rely on the collection’s extensive, and ever-growing, holdings of art, books, manuscripts, and material culture. By combining museum practice, research, and instruction, they present to the public the results of engaging collaborative projects led by UC Berkeley faculty, students, visiting scholars, artists, and curators. Exhibitions are presented in conjunction with programs connecting academic life and the public interest.
Current Exhibitions
Nancy Lee Katz: A Private Pantheon
Sept 2, 2026 – May 13, 2027
Nancy Lee Katz: A Private Pantheon explores the artist’s decades-long effort to photograph artists, writers, musicians, and thinkers she admired, including Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Sondheim, Maya Lin, Roy Lichtenstein, and Seiji Ozawa. Created in the intimate environments of personal studios and workplaces, these 133 portraits look behind public accolades to reveal a quiet, private presence. Unfolding in two parts (fall and spring), the exhibition presents, for the first time, the entirety of Katz’s Pantheon.
An Archive of Archives: Roman Vishniac’s Exhibitions History | New York, 1971-72
Sept 2, 2026 – December 17, 2026
Originally presented in 1971 at the Jewish Museum in New York, An Archive of Archives showcases a selection of Roman Vishniac’s photographs from The Concerns of Roman Vishniac: Man, Nature, and Science. Many of Vishniac’s most iconic images from Eastern Europe are presented here.
Time Capsules: Exploring the Permanent Collection
Sept 2, 2026 – May 13, 2027
Time Capsules presents highlights from the Magnes’s permanent collection, showcasing the breadth of the museum’s holdings across time and geography, as well as medium.
Object of the Month
Each month a member of the Magnes staff or community highlights an object or work of art from the museum’s collection.
On view through November 2026
Maker(s) currently unknown
Yemenite Jew [Israeli souvenir doll]
mid 20th century
Israel
Cloth, yarn, metal, and glue
1991.0.12.8
“I chose this tchotchke of a young Jewish man from Yemen selling what might be potatoes. The doll’s characterization of hollering and hailing in Israel’s public markets helps me remember what it feels like to try to make ends meet in a foreign land, something I have done in my own life.
I hope that this object prompts Magnes visitors to contemplate the diversity of Jewish peoples and experiences from around the globe.”
— David Sullivan, Head Preparator
Past Exhibitions
Since its founding in 1962, the Magnes has a history of presenting exhibitions that break new ground in Jewish Studies research, build upon the collaboration between curators and UC Berkeley faculty and students, expand Judaica connoisseurship, introduce under-recognized Jewish artists of the 20th century, and take risks with experimental projects by contemporary artists. Many of its exhibitions draw on selections from its extensive collections, or commissioned works that use the collections as inspiration.
Submit an Exhibition Proposal
Magnes exhibitions are almost always drawn from the 60,000 objects of global Jewish culture in the museum’s holdings, with loans occasionally brought in to bolster the stories told with collection items. If you believe that your exhibition concept fits into our exhibition program, please fill out the Temporary Exhibition Proposal form.
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