Flaxman's Pop Up Libraries

Get Started

Embarking on self-education can be daunting. Where do you start? This section is a selection of resources to help if you are new to these topics. After checking these out, the sections below have resources to help you dig deeper.

Navigation

• Chicago Focus
• Look Back: History
• Honor: Stories
• Discover: Creators
• Connect: Institutions, Organizations, and Service

Chicago Focus

• Encyclopedia of Chicago: Jews [Encyclopedia entry]
• History of the Jews in Chicago [Wikipedia entry]
• Virtual Jewish World: Chicago, Illinois [Article through the Jewish Virtual Library]
• Romance of a People: Jewish History in Chicago 1833-1933 [Collection from WTTW Chicago]
• 2020 Jewish Chicago: Who We Are: Population Study [From the Berman Jewish Databank]
• The Kosher Capones: A History of Chicago's Jewish Gangsters by Joe Kraus [Zoom event recording]
• Maxwell Street: A History of Racial and Cultural Integration [Student work from University of Chicago's Academic English Pre-Matriculation Program]
• Russian Hebrews: Maxwell Street [Section from In the Vicinity of Maxwell and Halsted Streets: Chicago 1890-1930 from UIC's Department of History]
• Then and Now: 10 Decades of Jewish Community in West Rogers Park [Traveling exhibit]
• Jewish Community Centers of Chicago records, 1904-1985 [Archival finding aid with detailed information in the Biographical/historical note section]

Look Back: History

• The Jewish Americans  [PBS Documentary Series Website] - Video Clips featured on the website are available here.
• From Haven to Home: 350 Years of Jewish Life in America [Library of Congress Digital Exhibition]
• The Story of the Jews [PBS Documentary Series Website]

• 10 key findings about Jewish Americans [Pew Research Report, 2021]

Collections

• Jewish American Heritage Month - The Library of Congress 
• Jewish American Heritage Month - National Archives
• Jewish American Heritage Month - Smithsonian Collections
• Jewish Virtual Library
• The American Jewish Archives - Their Digital Collections can be found here.
• The Center for Jewish History: Art History Research Guide
• The Center for Jewish History: Architecture and Design Research Guide
• The Lillian & Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum: Explore the Collection

Video

Honor: Stories

Writing

• Voces Project - Proyecto Voces
  "The VOCES Project aims to elevate narratives from any person who identifies as Latin and Jewish."

Audio

• Jewish Women's Archive - Oral History Collection 
• Jewish American Heritage Collection - American Archive of Public Broadcasting 
• Chutzpod [Podcast] - Please note this podcast DOES NOT provide transcripts.

Video

• The LUNAR Collective [YouTube Channel]
  "The LUNAR Collective cultivates connection, belonging, and visibility for Asian American Jews through intersectional community programming and authentic media storytelling."

Discover: Creators

Collectives

• Canvas
• Jewish Artists Collective Chicago

Articles

• States of Mind: Toward an alternative future for Jewish art, Artforum, 2022
• New Generation of Jewish Artists Pushes Sensitive Buttons, Hyperallergic, 2023
• Growing Up Jewish: Art and Storytelling, Museum of Jewish Heritage, 2021

Lists of Artists & Group Exhibitions

• Material/Inheritance: Contemporary Work by New Jewish Culture Fellows [2023 Exhibition]
• Art - The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women 
• Contemporary Jewish Artists - The Art Story
• Modern Artists in Jewish Art - The Art Story
• Jewish American Artists - Wikipedia Collection
• Jewish American Artists in the Twentieth Century [Article from the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art]
• Jewish Biographies: Artists - Jewish Virtual Library

Collections

• The Jewish Museum - Collections
• MFA Boston - Jewish American Art

Video

• Chutzpah as Art Practice [Zoom recording]

Books

• Jewish Book Council - Click here for their books about Amer­i­can Jew­ish Experiences.

Connect: Institutions, Organizations, and Services

Learn about SAIC's current Student Affinity Groups to find ways to connect at school!

Chicago

• Chicago Jewish Historical Society
• Jewish Artists Collective Chicago

National

• American Jewish Historical Society (NY)
• Center for New Jewish Culture (NY)
• Contemporary Jewish Museum (CA)
• Jewish Museum (NY)
• The National Center for Jewish Film (MA)