From October 14, 2021, the exhibition “Shtetl. Prayer to the Moon”, illustrating the pre-Holocaust culture of Litvak Shtetls is open for public at Šalčininkai District Municipal Culture Center (Vilniaus g.48, LT-17116, Šalčininkai) until November 8th.
The patron of the exhibition, the artist’s son Natan Karczmar, says: “I dedicate the exhibition to the memory of my father’s creative and mother’s organizational skills. Also – Dieveniškės Shtetl and its residents, who gave my father a precious childhood, full of love and charm, which accompanied him for the rest of his life”. You can get acquainted with Nathan Karczmar at the exhibition on October 29, around 11:00, on his way to Dieveniškės.
Vilnius Agroecology Training Center Branch “Dieveniškės Simon Karczmar Crafts Yard” with “S. Karczmar Art House” is implementing a cultural and educational project for all those interested in the history and heritage of various Lithuanian nations. The aim of the project is to acquaint young people and the general public with the traditional Jewish culture that flourished in many Lithuanian towns before the Holocaust. The collection of the father’s creative legacy, prepared by the artist’s son Nathan, travels, opening up daily life and work, customary and religious episodes meaningful to the circle of human life. S. Karczmar’s paintings unlock the door to today’s lost and then communal Jewish world. At the same time, this world is universal and and characteristic to all the shtetls that existed in the entire territory of Lithuania until 1941. The exhibition began its journey in November 2018 with the presentation of paintings in Dieveniškės. It was in this small town, or shtetl, that a future artist born in Warsaw spent his divine summers with grandparents. Little Simon “absorbed” bright and colorful moments in the life of the Jewish community. Vibrant childhood impressions inspired Simon Karczmar to create, and we can now admire his gift. The brightly charged paintings today invite you to both immerse yourself and understand and open up. The collection of paintings has already delighted the residents and guests of North Jerusalem – Vilnius – at Vilna Gaon Museum of Jewish History, at the Jewish communities of Riga and Tallinn. While the small traveling lithograph exhibition has been hosted at educational and cultural communities of Lithuanian regions.
We offer the residents of Šalčininkai city and its district as well as educational and cultural institutions to take the opportunity to visit the exhibition, where you will not only experience catharsis of contact with art, but also find a rich source for education on the topic of Jewish community culture.