David Hartt: The Histories (Le Mancenillier) Installation

Beth Sholom Synagogue Preservation Foundation presents a newly commissioned, site-responsive multimedia installation by visual artist and Pew Fellow David Hartt. Comprising video, sculpture, music, and other elements, David Hartt: The Histories (le Mancenillier) activates Beth Sholom Synagogue, a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed National Historic Landmark in Elkins Park, just outside of Philadelphia. The organization describes the exhibition as a work that “considers histories of Jewish and Black Diasporas in the United States.” Hartt’s installation centers around 19th-century Jewish-American and Creole composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk. Ethiopian pianist Girma Yifrashewa will record the work of Gottschalk as the score for the installation, and a series of live programs featuring Caribbean, African American, and Jewish music by Philadelphia-based baritone Jean Bernard Cerin will activate the building on select Sundays.