MFS – Creative Display
Creative Displays
Project guidelines and submission details, Judging criteria, Past Projects
What is the creative project?
The creative project represents the family story of the participants. ANU – Museum of the Jewish People sees as its mission to create exhibits that represent the many stories of the Jewish people through the ages. Likewise, students participating in MFS should create a presentation that tells their family stories. Students research their family history throughout the program, and then take on the challenge of telling that story in a creative, engaging way. ANU encourages participating students to be creative and to find expression for all their ideas and talents in their Roots Projects. These presentations can come in a variety of types:
- A written presentation: A family newspaper, a “family roots” album that is decorated and designed with pictures and documents, a family story comics, a mailbox of letters telling about the family, and more creative ideas.
- A creative presentation: A creative family game, drawing, sculpture, world map, or a meaningfully decorated presentation.
- A media presentation- A family blog, creating a family computer game, a digital album, a movie, music clip (with words and melody).
- Each school is responsible for making sure that the families of the students do not invest exaggerated sums of money in order to create their MFS presentations. Truthfully, the family story is best represented through creativity and depth.
- The creative projects that are chosen for the My Family Story gallery at ANU – Museum of the Jewish People come from all over the world. Therefore, there is a required limit to the size and weight of each presentation.
- The acceptable size of a creative display is 45.5 cm (18 inches) long x 30.5 cm (12 inches) wide, and 30.5 cm (12 inches) high. Please do not include expensive technologies such as smart phones or tablets in the display. Film/video/digital clips: Any art display that is a film/digital clip must include subtitles and be sent to the museum as a digital file. If chosen, it will be played on a screen in the museum exhibit.
Along with the creative project, students should submit their “Curator’s Words”, a 100-word statement explaining the significance and meaning of their creative project, how it connects to Jewish Peoplehood, and why it should be displayed in ANU – Museum of the Jewish People.
Local community galleries and judging panels
Each school or community will hold a gallery and judging panel for their creative projects. These galleries, where all of the creative projects are displayed for community members to see, can take place in a synagogue on Shabbat, at a special evening at school, in the hallways or classrooms, or other places. You can include important, valued members of the school or synagogue as part of the judging panel as ways of honoring them. Each local judging panel should select two top winners from each organization, based on four criteria below. Judging should be based on both the creative project as well as curator’s words.
One-minute videos of the top 2 winners from each school should be sent to ANU – Museum of the Jewish People for an international judging committee held at the museum. The international judging panel is comprised of museum professionals, Jewish community leaders, and artists. The top winning projects from around the world will be notified by someone from the My Family Story team, along with the request to ship the projects to ANU for the gallery opening. Therefore, there is a required limit to the size and weight of each presentation.
Four Criteria for the MFS Project
In order to unify the means of determining what makes appropriate MFS projects worthy of being included in the Manuel Hirsch Grosskopf International Competition, the My Family Story staff has established the following criteria:
- “Jewish Peoplehood” – The Roots Projects prepared by the participants must touch on at least one of the central concepts of Jewish Peoplehood:
- Collective Jewish memory
- Jewish values
- A multi-faceted connection to Israel
- Hebrew or Jewish languages
- Jewish creativity
- Jewish spirituality or lifecycle
- Depth and Research – When we judge the projects, we want to be able to understand the underlying concepts and ideas behind it, the depth of research and thought which were invested in the project and how it tells the participant’s family story. Likewise, we will be paying great attention to the “Curator’s Words” which is requested of the participants in the final unit of the project: a 100-word statement explaining the significance and meaning of their creative project, how it connects to Jewish Peoplehood, and why it should be displayed in ANU – Museum of the Jewish People.
- Aesthetics – The Roots Project, like an artistic installation, must be of aesthetic value and of interest to museum visitors. The aesthetics also include maintaining the size and weight limits of the project, as noted above.
- Creativity – We are looking for innovative and new ways of telling family histories and/or stories. In addition, it is important that the means and materials used to represent these stories will encourage interest and curiosity in the project.
We recommend looking at projects from past years below to get ideas for the project and curator’s words.
Interested in connecting with a school in your region to learn more? Email Lindsay at lindsay@anumuseum.org.il Tel: +972-54-303-7812
CYFS – Curating Your Family Story
Past Winning Projects and Curator’s Words
