*Sean Burrus, Curator of Judaic art, North Carolina Museum of Art*

Did you know that the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) is one of only two art museums in the country to have a permanent gallery for Judaic art? We were excited to learn more about it from Sean Burrus, the gallery’s first full-time curator. Read our interview below to learn more about Sean’s professional journey, what he loves about the gallery, and his plans for the gallery’s future.

Can you give a brief description of what you do as the curator of Judaic art?

My responsibility is to ensure the care and access to these historic and contemporary objects, but it’s also to bring them to life and interpret them through information in the galleries and exciting programming. I help visitors connect with these objects and understand Jewish history, culture, and religion, whether they are Jewish or not.

What is your background? What brought you to NCMA?

I’m from North Carolina originally. I grew up going to NCMA as a kid and I have so many fond memories of visits here with my family–my grandmother, in particular. It’s been exciting to see the Museum develop over the years, and to see the Judaic Art Gallery evolve from a small corner gallery in the East Building to this remarkable enlarged gallery in the West Building in its new, more central location.

I studied Jewish history and religion first at UNC-Chapel Hill, where I embarked on a first career as an archaeologist. I spent the better part of a decade digging at different sites across Israel in the summers, and researching and writing on ancient Jewish art and archaeology. I went to Hebrew University after my undergradute, and then did my PhD in Jewish History at Duke University. Throughout, I’ve always been driven by curiosity about how we, as Jews, use art to define ourselves and to navigate our sense of place in the larger world.

Becoming the first full-time curator of the Judaic Art Gallery is an opportunity I never envisioned coming about. I’m excited to return to North Carolina to be part of the next chapter of this gallery.

What is notable or unique about the Judaic Art Gallery?

The Judaic Art Gallery was the first such gallery in an art museum in the country, established in 1983, and to this day the NCMA is only one of four art museums in the country with a Judaic collection and one of two museums that devote a permanent gallery to Judaic art. (We define “Judaic art” as ceremonial and ritual objects, like menorahs or Kiddush cups). The founding vision of the gallery, established by Abe Kanof and Frances Pascher Kanof, was very far sighted. It’s why that vision has survived for 40 years. That vision encompasses the historic and geographic scope of Judaism; a global story that spans millenia. But equally important for the Kanofs was that Gallery was not only history project. Instead, it’s a testament to the vitality of Judaism and the Jewish people today. It’s why the gallery contains beautiful, rare historic pieces, but also innovative and exciting contemporary art by living artists. That combination of historic and contemporary objects is what makes the gallery unique and why it continues to thrive and inspire to this day, four decades later.

What are the biggest trends in this field right now?

There are a lot of different approaches to displaying Jewish art and culture. Judaism and the Jewish people are not monolithic, rather, we are diverse and varied cultures. Showcasing that is not an easy task. Trends have to do with speaking to that diversity, showcasing its global scope, and making an argument for the importance of studying and highlighting this culture within larger and cross-cultural stories. There are projects around the country which are exploring new approaches to displaying Jewish art and culture and the NCMA really remains a leader in the field and in conversation with colleagues around the country, from LA to New York.

Today, one of the most important things for a gallery that presents Jewish history and culture is to seize opportunities to push back against rising tides of antisemitism. That’s one of the things that I think is particularly promising about our collection, and the opportunity in front of us.

Unlike at dedicated Jewish museums, at NCMA we are telling the Jewish story in a global context, in a museum that showcase cultures from around the world, including African, Indigenous American, and ancient Egyptian cultures. This is a really exciting opportunity to draw connections between Jewish cultures and other cultures, and to highlight similarities of experience and shared values without flattening differences. In the months ahead, we will be doing this by expanding the global reach of the Judaic Art Gallery, but also by placing certain pieces from the Judaic art collection in other galleries throughout the museum; for example, our Algerian Torah finial will move this fall to “The Africa You Ought to Know” gallery to join other pieces from the NCMA collection that highlight the religious diversity of Africa.

What are the biggest challenges in this field right now?

It’s a small field still. I would say at its crux, there remain problems of definition. We still encounter the attitude that “Jews don’t do art,” and some members of the public are surprised to find that there is Judaic art. Moving beyond that basic stereotype that we still find ourselves pushing back against, there are definitional challenges within the field. What is the relationship between Judaic art, the ceremonial objects, and more generally Jewish art and Jewish artists. What’s the relationship between displaying Judaic art and showcasing Jewish artists who speak to the Jewish experience today, past or present. How can we provide visitors a broader look at the richness of Judaic (and Jewish) art and its cultural contexts?

*Unknown, Torah Mantle, 18th Century. (Gift of Ugo Goetzl & Family and Lisa & Steven Feierstein)*

What are your goals for the Judaic Art Gallery? Where do you see it going in 5 years?

With the historic collection, I want to increase the variety of media represented and the global reach of the gallery. Just this past year, in 2023 we added our first textiles to the collection–two historic Italian Torah textiles, an 18th-Century Venetian curtain and a mantle, and a mantle commissioned from the Israeli artist Sari Srulovitch, that was dyed and woven by NC-based weaver Neal Howard and then fabricated by Durham-based conservator Ruth Cox.. These mean the introduction of new objects to the gallery from Italy, Israel and North Carolina. I’d also like to see us acquire ceramics and glass, as well as to continue building and refining our already strong collection of historic silver.

But I’d especially like to see more and more innovative engagement with contemporary artists in the years ahead, building on the original vision of the gallery as a testament to the vitality of the Jewish tradition. Leaning into our track record of commissioning new works of Judaic art, like the mantle by Sari Srulovitch or the Miriam’s Cup by Amy Reichert commissioned in 2023, is one strategy. But we may also explore exhibiting the work of contemporary artists whose work may not be Judaica, but deeply engages Jewish issues and Jewish experience. I’d also like to make more opportunities to have connections between the Judaic Arts gallery and the other global sections of the museum.

Are there any events coming up you want the Jewish community to know about?

We have been working hard on expanding the program offerings for the gallery. This fall, we will be inaugurating a Jewish Film Series on Thursdays featuring four films. It’s a great slate of films with something for everyone. We will be bringing cast members and directors to the screenings. We’re also going to be bringing a very innovative performing arts piece, combining film and modern dance, in the fall, that explores Jewish identity and history. The details are still under wraps, but I’m very excited about it and about using programs like these to help our audiences appreciate the best of Jewish art and culture today. We’re also glad to partner with the Jewish Federation of Greater Raleigh to help host these programs and get the word out. Stay tuned!

What do you want people to understand about the collection?

*Zelig Segal, Torah Crown, 2000. (North Carolina Museum of Art)*

This collection, both in quality and in scope, is truly one of the premier collections of Judaic art in the entire country. It’s exceptional, it’s unique, and there is something for everyone, something guaranteed to surprise every visitor, even those with a deep Jewish background. Because it contains both historic and contemporary objects, drawn from across the world from North Carolina to China, there are going to be objects that look familiar and objects that look completely foreign. For me, that is a great expression of the beauty and variety inherent in the Jewish experience of Diaspora.

One of my favorite things about the gallery is that you can look at two objects that have the same essential function, like a Venetian Torah crown from the 18th Century, and an Israeli one from the 21st Century, and despite serving the same ritual function, they look almost nothing alike. These types of juxtapositions offer visitors a great chance to explore the contours of Judaism across time and space.

What is your favorite piece in the gallery?

Even though I’ve only been here a year, they are all my children and I have to be diplomatic! But the Seder plate by Ludwig Wolpert is one piece that I would love to have on my own seder table. It’s an incredible example of Wolpert’s embrace of modern design principles, and especially Bauhaus aesthetics, and his ability to apply those to Jewish ritual objects and redefine them in the process. In the best of modernist design, function dictates form, and this is really an all-in-one piece that brings together all the implements needed for the seder. The plate incorporates dishes for the six symbolic foods, three tiers for the three matzot, and is crowned by Elijah’s cup. All of these elements are brought together in a very streamlined design with glass, silver, and wood that is so refined and perfect. After he immigrated to the United States, Wolpert became a close friend of the gallery’s founder, Abe Kanof, and went on to become the first director of the Tobe Pascher Workshop at the Jewish Museum in New York, a workshop Abe set up to support contemporary artists working in Judaica. So the piece has a special resonance in the gallery also.

Interview with Sean Burrus, Curator of Judaic Art Gallery