Later in Life: Adult B'nai Mitzvah, a site-specific video installation by Sabrina Gschwandtner, explores what it means to complete a B'nai Mitzvah ceremony—a significant Jewish coming-of-age ritual traditionally performed at age thirteen—as an adult.
Gschwandtner, who is both one of the six Los Angeles adults featured in the work and its director, was inspired to undertake this project by her son’s B’nai Mitzvah studies. Other participants include actor, writer, and literary translator Ya’akov Ronnie Britton; real estate agent Geoff Martin; playwright and actor Shanti Reinhardt; political and social activist Joyce Rubin; and Emmy-winning artist, activist, and filmmaker Joey Soloway.
With a runtime of approximately thirty-three minutes, each participant in Later in Life addresses their unique ancestry, upbringing, and why they chose this rite of passage in adulthood, simultaneously revealing the diverse nature of contemporary Jewish experience that includes Jews-by-choice, interfaith families, and individuals of various identity positions and political perspectives.
Composed of personal stories alongside images of local Los Angeles synagogue architecture and design, the circular installation showcases the profound meaning created through intergenerational connection, choosing one’s own family, and forging and sustaining Jewish identity in today’s world.
On view for a limited time in the Kaleidoscope Gallery, Later in Life: Adult B'nai Mitzvah is part of the Skirball's ongoing exhibition, Visions and Values: Jewish Life from Antiquity to America, which reveals how ancestral teachings and experiences shape modern values.
