Sunday I December 2019 at the Jewish Museum of Lecce will be inaugurated the exhibition "The traces of the train of life. Between art and documents not to forget" by Adi Kichelmacher, curated by Ermanno Tedeschi, in collaboration with the Cultural Association Acribia and with the patronage of the Puglia Region, the Municipality of Lecce and the Province of Lecce - Salento d'Amare. The exhibition will be the start of educational workshops on the theme of memory, dedicated to the schools of each order and grade, which will be presented on Monday, December 2, 2019. At the opening of the exhibition and the educational workshops there will be the artist Adi Kichelmacher and Prof. Fabrizio Lelli (Director of the Museum and Teacher of Hebrew Language and Literature, University of Salento).

Adi Kichelmacher's story is a family story rooted in 20th century in Europe, in the persecution, and daily harassment against Jews, racial laws, and deportations to Nazi death camps. It is also a story of salvation, of wandering, and daring escapes which have allowed the young Adi to be here today to tell the story of her grandparents, and the deep sorrow of broken lives, and transform all this with the language of art. All this comes together in this exhibition, in which Adi stands as a “witness” to her story, which has been handed down to her by her family. Adi looks at the past with the eyes of a contemporary artist who wants, through her works, to launch a message of hope, so that what it was will never be repeated.  

Prof. Fabrizio Lelli said: I am pleased and honoured to host Adi Kichelmacher's deeply touching exhibition at the Jewish Museum of Lecce. Adi Kichelmacher is an Israeli artist who devotes most of her visual experience to the memory of the Shoah, which constitutes one of the main research topics here at our Museum. Adi’s artistic works highlight the role of those who witnessed, whether first hand or no, the dramatic events that affected not only the individuals but all mankind. Nowadays, when the persistent threats of hatred of the "Other" resurface, lessons from the past and from reinterpretation through art are certainly helpful to create strong values. These all contribute to the foundation of an active citizenship, in the knowledge that the mistakes of the past must not be repeated in the present and in the future.

Participants: the artist Adi Kichelmacher, Ermanno Tedeschi (curator), Fabrizio Lelli (Direttore del Museo Ebraico di Lecce e Docente di Lingua e Letteratura Ebraica, Università del Salento), Carlo Salvemini (Sindaco del Comune di Lecce), Alessandro Delli Noci (Vicesindaco del Comune di Lecce), Loredana Capone (Assessore Industria turistica e culturale, Regione Puglia, Paolo Foresio (Assessore Spettacolo, Turismo, Sviluppo economico del Comune di Lecce).

PROGRAMME: Sunday, Dicember 1, 2019  

• H. 12 PM - Press conference
  
• H. 5 PM - Opening.
  

This will be followed by kosher wine tasting offered by Cantine Leuci, Guagnano.