Performances on Sunday, June 23rd and Sunday, June 30th, at the “Hala Targowa” flea market.
Lucky Jew takes a common object of Polish folk culture and turns it on its head. The term “Lucky Jews” refers to figurines and small paintings of Jews with gold coins that are sometimes sold in Poland as good luck charms. While some people also see them as remembrances of Poland’s pre-war Jewish communities, for many people they are simply anti-Semitic caricatures. Lucky Jew engages with the cultural complications of these objects by bringing a Lucky Jew to life in the public spaces of the city. The performance, at once sincere and satirical, is our most well-known and most controversial piece and is guaranteed to provoke meaningful conversation and debate.
Michael Rubenfeld, one of the co-creators of Lucky Jew and a co-founder of FestivALT, and Adam Schorin, a co-director of FestivALT, take on the role of the Lucky Jew at this year’s performances. Selling magnets, canvases, mugs, and even iPhone cases with images of themselves as Old World Jews counting money, Michael and Adam engage passers-by in a complicated conversation of stereotypes, traditions, and the nature of luck.
