Press Release
Portland, OR — The Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education (OJMCHE) will host In This Sand: Seven Days of Collective Care With Cara Levine, a free week-long series of participatory workshops and group experiences, May 18 – 24 in Portland.
Through seven events, Levine and the museum invite the public to explore grief, healing, and Jewish identity through shared creative practices and multiple lenses, including pewter casting, poetry, sound healing, and guided conversation.
WHAT:
Inspired by shiva, Judaism’s seven-day mourning period, In This Sand expands on the themes of Levine’s current exhibition, Without End: Recent Work on Grief, transforming the museum into an active space for reflection, connection, and creative expression. The program reflects Levine’s core artistic ambitions: to confront suffering as a shared human experience while fostering empathy and mutual understanding.
“I’ve been shaped in a way where I’m very tuned into the loss that we’re all carrying and that we’re all experiencing all the time,” Levine said. “It’s something that creates a level of understanding, mutuality — for me — in a world that sometimes is bearable and sometimes is unbearable.”
Like her work, this week-long residency is rooted in the values Levine inherited from her family, including compassion, curiosity, social justice, and arvut hadadit, the principle of mutual accountability.
“Caring for each other is a Jewish value,” said exhibition curator Yaelle Amir. “This show is all about caring for each other and about having a personal experience with other people.”
In This Sand offers ample opportunities for participants of all ages, from teens to families to elders.
The opening sessions, Silverlinings, invite participants to draw an object lost to climate disaster using the gallery sandbox, then cast it in pewter. Interested parties can sign up for these one-on-one sessions on the OJMCHE website. Later in the week, Portland artist Daniela Naomi Molnar leads a poetry workshop exploring how to turn grief over climate change into a creative force. Mediator Dorit Price-Levine facilitates a guided conversation on loss and shifting Jewish identity in the wake of October 7. Additional events include a family-focused workshop on navigating children’s big feelings with the nonprofit OK YOU, a session with Rabbi Sarah Rensin about applying the power of the Kaddish to the challenges of aging, and a sound healing experience with The Lantern.
The programs welcome participants of all backgrounds and offer an accessible entry point into contemporary Jewish identity. No prior artistic experience is required.
By changing visitors from observers to active participants, In This Sand encourages people to process grief through art, ritual, and our shared humanity—recognizing loss as both personal and collective.
In our challenging moment of climate change, warfare, and political division, Levine’s activist art offers a welcome home for empathy, compassion, and collective responsibility.
“Cara creates opportunities through her work,” Amir said. “Every part of her practice is an offering.” She creates activist art for everyone.
As the culminating program of Without End, In This Sand reflects OJMCHE’s commitment to presenting art as a catalyst for dialogue, healing, and a broad exploration of modern Jewish identity.
WHEN AND WHERE:
The series launches Monday, May 18. All events take place at the museum:
Day 1: Silverlinings Casting Session With Cara Levine
Monday, May 18, 10am – 4pm
A guided artmaking session where participants draw and cast an object lost to climate change.
Day 2: Silverlinings Casting Session With Cara Levine
Tuesday, May 19, 10am – 4pm
A second casting session.
Day 3: The Circle Is Expanding: Creating Climate Grief Poetry With Daniela Naomi Molnar
Wednesday, May 20, 1 – 3pm
An afternoon of poetry exploring climate grief as a creative, transformative force.
Day 4: What Have We Lost? Communal Conversation With Dorit Price-Levine
Thursday, May 21, 9:30 – 11am
A facilitated conversation exploring personal and collective loss and identity since October 7. All perspectives are welcome.
Day 5: A Handful of Sand With Rabbi Sarah Rensin
Friday, May 22, 11am – 12pm
An intimate session for those experiencing grief related to aging, dementia, or spousal loss, exploring the Kaddish as a source of communal comfort.
Day 6: Playing in the Sand With OK YOU
Saturday, May 23, 11 – 2pm
A family-friendly workshop where participants explore big emotions through creative play and receive tools for emotional support.
Day 7: Immersive Sound Healing With The Lantern
Sunday, May 24, 2 – 4
An intergenerational, sound-based experience designed to support reflection and renewal.
Space is limited. RSVP for all events.
The Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, the Pacific Northwest’s only Jewish museum, presents exhibitions and public programs that explore history, identity, and human rights through art and education.
For additional information media materials, and interview inquires, please contact:
Aaron Gilbreath, Marketing and Communications Manager
503-226-3600, ext. 113