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Dear Friends and Art Lovers,

As the season begins to change, my commitment to using my art practice to inspire action remains constant. Through public artworks, museum exhibitions, and public programs, I have big plans to continue developing my voice as an artivist and to continue creating work that bends the arc of justice.

Thanks as always for being on this journey with me,

Caron

Sukkot on the Hill at the Vilna Shul

In honor of the upcoming Jewish harvest festival, Sukkot, I have been invited by The Vilna Shul in Boston to create a Sukkah.

Sukkot is one of the three major festivals in Judaism, and is both an agricultural festival of thanksgiving and a commemoration of the forty-year period during which the children of Israel wandered in the desert after leaving slavery in Egypt, living in temporary shelters as they traveled.

To commemorate this period, it is customary to build small temporary shelters where we gather during the festivities.

This installation will feature the “seven species,” the staple foods consumed by the Jewish people in the land of Israel during biblical times. Traditionally, each species is linked to a human emotional attribute:

🍞 Wheat is linked to kindness, which nourishes the soul;

🌾 Barley is linked to Strength, the nourishment of the body;

🍇 Grapes are linked to beauty which brings us joy;

🌱 Figs are linked to perseverance, which feeds our our continued involvement;

🌳Pomegranates are linked to splendor or humility, both of which guide our deeds;

🫒Olives are linked to our foundation and are associated with the struggles we face;

🌴And finally, dates are linked to royalty and symbolize perfection.

I will be talking more about the symbolism and significance of the installation and it’s links to Jewish traditions and history in an upcoming conversation with Matthew Teitelbaum and there are several other programs planned inviting the public to engage with the work. Details below.

How Art Connects Us to Place, Self and History

Conversation with Matthew Teitelbaum

Wednesday, October 12th | 6:30pm EST | at The Vilna Shul, 18 Phillips St. Boston MA 02114

Learn More & Register Here

I am deeply honored to have the opportunity to join Mathew Teitelbaum, Director of the MFA, Boston for a conversation exploring how Jewish art has played a central role in identity formation throughout Jewish history. I hope you can join us.

More Sukkot Events at the Vilna Shul

Sanctuary City

On view through November 19, 2022

Somerville Museum | 1 Westwood Rd, Somerville, MA 02143

Curated by Julia Cseko and featuring: A+J Art + Design, Lani Asuncion, Allison Maria Rodriguez, Joanna Tam, Raquel Fornasaro, Caron Tabb, Wen-hao Tien, Iaritza Menjivar, Kledia Spiro, Ben Spalding, Dave Ortega, Raul The Third

It has been a deeply meaningful experience to show my fiber-based wall sculpture, “Black, White, Asian, or Indigenous. Jew or Arab; We all Bleed The Same Red” at the Somerville Museum alongside 12 immigrant artists from the Boston area. While my immigration experience and social justice issues related to immigration have long been central to my work, this was my first opportunity to show exclusively among others who share in this identity and bring such varied and nuanced experiences to the conversation. Here is a snippet from Julia Cseko’s curatorial statement:

“We are not here to support the notion of a Sanctuary or the concept of a Sanctuary City with acceptance or docility, but to analyze the underlying reasons for its existence. Should we be thankful for these spaces for the paltry protections they offer? Or should we be focusing on changing the systems that make Sanctuaries necessary? I believe the latter.”

Sanctuary City Public Programs

Upcoming Exhibitions