8 Nights 8 Windows: Public Hanukkah Art In Boston

By Olga Khvan for Boston Magazine

To celebrate Hanukkah this year, windows at eight establishments throughout Boston will be illuminated with installations by local artists—one to represent each night of the Festival of Lights.

“8 Nights, 8 Windows” is the city’s first Jewish public art project, organized by the New Center for Arts and Culture and Combined Jewish Philanthropies in partnership with the Boston Jewish Music Festival and the Boston Jewish Film Festival.

Traditionally, the Jewish community celebrates Hanukkah by lighting the menorah, one candle a day for eight days, to honor the miracle of light, which dates back to when the Maccabees reclaimed Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple with a single canister of oil that unexpectedly burned for eight days.

Inspired by this origin story, the public art project called for artists to submit proposals for installations that tell stories of miracle, illumination, and innovation.

The final projects, which were selected by a jury of notable curators, arts leaders, and arts practitioners, incorporate everything from holographic laser projections to videos to mini lanterns. One installation, on view at Roche Bros. in Downtown Crossing, promises to grow in brightness and vibrancy with each night of Hanukkah.

Read the rest at Bostonmagazine.com

Find out more about the project and at 8Nights8Windows.com and see below for locations: