The Jewish Museum of Venice, founded in 1954, is squeezed between two synagogues in campo (as the small squares of Venice are called) of Ghetto Novo (translated into “The New Ghetto” although it is the oldest Jewish ghettos of the world).
The museum, inserted in a vast architectural complex, tells the story of the Venetian Jewish community and its rich culture. Throughout the year, it is a centre for fervent cultural activities, and as always the Museum has always focused its activities on children and the numerous schools that visit it.
Arbos has created two collections for the Museum’s bookshop: the first collection is made of recycled leather and is for its adult audience, while the second is made of coloured straw paper and aimed at the museum’s younger visitors.
The graphics are all based on the letter chet: the eighth letter of the Hebrew alphabet with its characteristic door shape. It is the result of the union of two letters that refer respectively to the “feminine” and “masculine”.
Thus, the chet is the symbol of life and refers to the concept of motherly love and protection but also to unconscious knowledge. On the contrary, the warm colours of the straw paper and the recycled leather evoke the colours of the Venetian homes and the lagoon.
The products have been created with close attention to their beauty and their cost so that each visitor can bring with them a small memento of the Museum at the end of their visit.