Our Story

The Jewish Museum of Australia was founded in 1977 by a group of dedicated volunteers led by Rabbi Ronald Lubofsky. During our first years of existence, this collective staged exhibitions at the Myer Gallery and Tramways Board building, acquired objects for a collection, and searched for a permanent home.

In 1982, one of our founding members – June Helmer – invited her brother, the Governor-General Sir Zelman Cowen, to be our Patron ahead of the opening of our temporary premises in the disused classrooms of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation in South Yarra. Over the next 13 years, we presented over 40 exhibitions at that location, several of which toured nationally and won industry awards.

With community support, we were able to purchase a building opposite one of Melbourne’s most beautiful synagogues, the St Kilda Hebrew Congregation. On 20 August 1995, the Governor-General Bill Hayden opened the Jewish Museum of Australia: Gandel Centre of Judaica, named for our lead benefactors, John and Pauline Gandel.

At the Jewish Museum of Australia, we illuminate Jewish life. At the intersection of art and Jewish culture, our Museum is a place for all people to share in the Australian Jewish experience.

We are:

• Authentic: Committed to excellence, heritage and quality;
• Inclusive: Building a sense of belonging and trust with people of all backgrounds;
• Innovative: A museum experience re-imagined beyond our community and country; and
• Open: Sparking curiosity, conversation and social cohesion through connection and play.

We seek to infuse all we do with:

• Chesed, or compassion and kindness; and
• Tikkun olam, or the desire to improve our world.