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In The Absence Of Mourning

Interior of JM’s home, from the exhibit: 'Dwelling in a Time of Plagues: in the absence of a proper mourning' Digital Screenshot of Zoom Interview, 2021.
Courtesy of the Jewish Museum of Maryland and Tal Beery
Interior of JM’s home, from the exhibit: 'Dwelling in a Time of Plagues: in the absence of a proper mourning' Digital Screenshot of Zoom Interview, 2021.

Holding a hand, offering a hug or a tender touch … all give comfort to those suffering a loss. But for the past year, many mourners have grieved in isolation.

A new exhibit at the Jewish Museum of Maryland called ’in the absence of a proper mourning’ creates a communal space for grieving … and healing -- in any religious context. Sol Davis, the Jewish Museum’s executive director, describes it. Artist Tal Beery tells what he hopes people take from it.

“I want to encourage people to ask their friends and neighbors about the losses that they’ve experienced and not to be shy. We need to be brave and ask, ‘How are you doing?’ ”

Links: Jewish Museum of Maryland exhibit

Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.
Melissa Gerr is a Senior Producer for On the Record. She started in public media at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, Minn., where she is from, and then worked as a field producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland. She made the jump to audio-lover in Baltimore as a digital media editor at Mid-Atlantic Media and Laureate Education, Inc. and as a field producer for "Out of the Blocks." Her beat is typically the off-beat with an emphasis on science, culture and things that make you say, 'Wait, what?'