Ketubah Renaissance – The Artful Modern Revival of the Jewish Marriage Contract

ON VIEW August  6 – January,  2027
Curated by Michael Shapiro  

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

For more than 2,500 years, the ketubah, a traditional Jewish marriage document, has marked a meaningful moment in Jewish life. What began as a legal agreement outlining care and responsibility has continually evolved alongside the communities it serves. Today, it is also a powerful artistic expression, often displayed in the home as a reflection of love, partnership, and shared values in all their diverse forms. 

In the late twentieth century, artists, calligraphers, and couples helped reimagine this tradition in bold and expansive ways. Drawing from ancient texts while embracing contemporary perspectives, they introduced new artistic languages, inclusive and gender expansive texts, and broader understandings of family, identity, and commitment. These ketubot honor tradition while actively reshaping it, making space for a wider range of voices and lived experiences. 

Ketubah Renaissance presents a selection of contemporary ketubot that reflect this ongoing transformation. Curated and presented by Michael Shapiro, it builds on decades of work supporting artists and expanding the field of ketubah art. Together, these works highlight how an ancient ritual object can serve as a dynamic platform for creativity, equity, and belonging, inviting all viewers to see themselves within its evolving story.

Join the curator and Rabbi Batshir Torchio on Sunday, November 15, to explore the history behind the exhibit more deeply.

ABOUT THE BOOK
Published in 2025, Ketubah Renaissance by Michael Shapiro celebrates the artists, calligraphers, and communities who have transformed the ketubah into a vibrant form of contemporary Jewish expression. Drawing from decades of collecting, research, and advocacy, the book highlights sixty works that reflect the enduring creativity and relevance of this living tradition. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Shapiro is the founder and CEO of Ketubah.com, the world’s leading publisher of artistic Jewish wedding contracts, and a worldwide lecturer on historical and contemporary ketubot. For three decades he has helped shape the development of contemporary ketubah art by guiding both influential and emerging ketubah artists, and by freeing a wider range of artists of the need to master the text themselves. His innovations include archival quality on-demand ketubah printing and laser cutting and an online tool that makes it easy to submit and verify the Hebrew date, location and names. Most recently, he launched HebrewNamer.com, a free, inclusive resource for exploring, selecting and storing Hebrew names literally “from cradle to grave”. Ketubah Renaissance is his first book. (IG: @ketubahmichael) 

“I was a Jewish day school nerd. While classmates wished they went to a regular school, I loved it! Learning Hebrew and Yiddish, singing in the choir and ultimately being the Hebrew valedictorian. I am neither an artist, rabbi, nor professor. I am an amateur in the original sense of the word – a lover of ketubah art. And since 1995, I have had a front-row seat to a very visual modern-day miracle, the revival of the ketubah. My hope is that this exhibition will inform and inspire, delight and deepen your connection to the Jewish marriage document. Welcome to a fascinating legacy and a future full of possibility—the world of the Ketubah Renaissance!”