Jerusalem’s Beit Avi Chai has signed a multi-year partnership with Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, one of Europe’s largest cultural heritage organizations, to produce a new German season of its multimedia series “Let Objects Speak.”
The agreement will give Beit Avi Chai access to selected Jewish-related objects from SPK’s collections and allow its team to work with the foundation’s museums, curators and scholars on films, articles and digital content aimed at international audiences.
The agreement was signed at SPK headquarters in Berlin by Dr. Marion Ackermann, president of SPK, and Dr. David Rozenson, executive director of Beit Avi Chai. The partnership follows more than a year of planning and was developed with support from Ostdeutsche Medienholding, which will also help with production and distribution in Germany.
A manuscript from the German series of 'Let Objects Speak'
(Photo: Courtesy)
SPK oversees major German cultural institutions, including the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the Berlin State Library, archives, research institutes and the museums on Berlin’s UNESCO-listed Museum Island. Through the new collaboration, Beit Avi Chai plans to use objects from SPK collections to tell broader stories about Jewish history, culture and tradition.
The project comes at a time when Israeli cultural institutions have faced growing international pressure, including boycott efforts, and when large-scale cultural partnerships involving Israeli institutions have become more difficult to secure.
“Let Objects Speak” examines Jewish civilization through manuscripts, ritual objects, artworks and historical artifacts held by museums and libraries around the world. Each episode begins with a single object and uses it as the starting point for a wider story about Jewish history, ideas and culture.
Coin from the German series of 'Let Objects Speak'
(Photo: Courtesy)
The German season will be produced in Hebrew, English, German and Russian for digital platforms, as well as educational and museum settings. Production is expected to begin in the coming months, with the season scheduled to premiere in spring 2027.
Beit Avi Chai is also completing post-production on the American season of “Let Objects Speak,” filmed at museums and cultural institutions across the United States and hosted by author and journalist Matti Friedman. The first episodes are expected to premiere ahead of the Jewish High Holidays in September.
Previous seasons of the series were produced in Russia and Israel. The project has worked with institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, the Morgan Library & Museum, the Jewish Museum, the Jewish Theological Seminary, the State Hermitage Museum, the Pushkin Museum, the Israel Museum and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.
Rozenson said the agreement is significant not only for Beit Avi Chai, but also for international cultural cooperation involving Israeli institutions.
“At a time when Israeli cultural institutions increasingly face boycott campaigns, rising antisemitism and growing pressure to curtail international cooperation, this agreement sends an important message,” he said. “It reflects a shared commitment to scholarship, cultural exchange, and the belief that Jewish history and culture belong in the world’s leading museums and in the global cultural conversation. Together with SPK, we will bring extraordinary objects — and the Jewish and universal stories they carry — to audiences around the world.”
Beit Avi Chai said the agreement is one of its most significant international cultural partnerships to date and is expected to expand the reach of “Let Objects Speak” in Europe.