Universum דער אוניווערס
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Composer Maria Ka is the fourth artist to exhibit her work in the Rotating Gallery. Maria’s multimedia presentation is a journey through her music albums she recorded in Yiddish. The presentation is accompanied by music videos and original lyrics along with the artist’s own translation.
- 7–19 August, during POLIN Museum’s opening hours, the last gallery of the Core Exhibition
Maria Ka’s installation consists of three separate parts, each representing an individual audiovisual universe that reflects, aside from the music, the key intentions behind the artist’s creations—the visibility of women’s stories, the contemporary and progressive nature of the Yiddish language, and an autonomous female perspective.
The first universum is "Di arumike velt די אַרומיקע וועלט" (lit. The Surrounding World; original title: The New Reality). It consists of the material produced in the year 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. In it, for the first time, the artist employed a formula—which has since grown to become her signature formula—which connects Yiddish language with contemporary music genres: alternative, electro, punk and rock. Three original songs from the album will be presented in the exhibition: "Krankheyt קראַנקהייט", "(I) ShaWoman אשה – פֿרוי" and the eponymous "Di arumike velt די אַרומיקע וועלט". In its original form, each song is accompanied by the artist’s visuals, and that is how they will be presented in the Rotating Gallery space.
The second universum is a multilingual project titled "Di shaykhesn די שײַכותן" (Connections). It is an album created in 2022 in three languages—Yiddish, Polish and English—that are interwoven in the songs’ structure, entirely inspired by the multiplicity of identities and the eponymous connections between them. Each song is a separate persona in the visual layer, adding another layer of meaning to the whole. The gallery includes three original songs from the album: "Bingo בינגאָ", "Enigma עניגמאַ" and "Ven es regnt ווען עס רעגנט" along with the accompanying music videos, lyrics and translation.
The third universum is Maria Ka’s latest album: "Der Hemshekh דער המשך" (The Continuation), recorded—unlike the previous two solo albums—with a band. The album was written and recorded in 2020, at the peak of the Women’s Strike against the legislation tightening abortion law in Poland and in the context of the raging pandemic. The material released in 2023 is dedicated to the invisible biographies of women and to the female perspective which has not been included in the prevailing historical narrative. It consists of five original song compositions—four are presented in the Rotating Gallery in the audio-visual form, one: "Mayn simen iz skorpion מײַן סימען איז סקאָרפּיאָן" is available only in the audio form. Music videos in "Der Hemshekh דער המשך" universe are: "Gikhe trit גיכע טריט", "Ikh bin mid איך בין מיד", "Ven ikh kuk oyf ווען איך קוק אויף" and "Ale teg אַלע טעג", all four edited by the artist.
The presentation is accompanied by Maria Ka’s solo concert titled "Di shaykhesn די שײַכותן", during which she will perform most of the songs presented in the Gallery. Read more about the concert →
Maria Ka is a lyricist, composer, vocalist, and pianist who creates original Yiddish music. She is a three-time audience award winner at the ‘Bubbe Awards’ contest in Brazil. Her work fuses Yiddish with alternative, electro, punk, and electropop genres. Maria integrates women’s stories and perspectives into the main historical narrative. She has performed at major Jewish culture festivals in Poland and worldwide. Her albums were reviewed in, i.a., The Times of Israel, The Forward and Tablet.
In 2024, POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews celebrates its 10th birthday. On this occasion, we wish to make the voices of Jewish artists heard by creating a rotating, lively, polyphonic space in the last gallery of the Core Exhibition—a space for Jewish artists to express themselves.
Read more about Rotating Gallery →
Partners:
Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage – project: "Rotating Gallery as part of POLIN Museum’s 10th birthday celebration (developing a network of Jewish artists)."
