For more than a decade, Baltimore City Hall has played host to Chanukah menorah lightings. This usually includes a ceremony with the mayor, an official City Hall menorah and even visual installations.
This year’s installation, however, is different.
“This year’s display was intentionally designed as a permanent foundation we can return to and expand over time,” said Rebecca Mark, the Jewish community liaison for the Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs. The display was created in collaboration with the Jewish Museum of Maryland.
Samantha Frost is the multimedia designer in the Mayor’s Office of Cable and Communications. She said that she helped design the exhibit to reflect Chanukah as it is celebrated in Jewish homes across the city. That means asymmetrical photos, like in a living room, that depict scenes of families around the dinner table and celebrating the holidays. The exhibit includes a glowing lamp, patterned wallpaper, an armchair and a small table, as well as an overarching blue and gold color palette. The exhibit will be up through the start of the new year.
“The exhibition had two goals,” Frost said in a Baltimore Jewish Times interview. “The first was to offer Jewish Baltimorians a familiar sense of holiday warmth and recognition. The second was to create an inviting, accessible entry point for visitors learning the traditions and story of Chanukah for the first time.”
The second goal is especially important at a time when antisemitism is rising across the country. Mark said it’s important for the mayor’s office to be open and upfront about its support for Jewish Baltimoreans.
“Public expressions of support remind people that they are seen, valued, and part of the shared fabric of their community — which matters in moments of joy and becomes especially important during more challenging times,” she said. “Public support helps counter isolation and reinforces that Jewish communities are not standing alone.”
For Mark, the exhibit is as much a jumping off point for relations between Jews and non-Jews as it is a way to celebrate Chanukah.
“I conceptualized this exhibit as a way to introduce the meaning and traditions of Chanukah, and to use that framework to explore Jewish life, both broadly and here in Baltimore,” she said.
That strategy has worked, as Mark said that a number of city employees and citizens who aren’t Jewish have reached out to the city to credit them for helping bring Jewish culture to the masses. Mark added a particularly notable anecdote that came during the candle lighting ceremony at the beginning of the eight days of celebration.
“One especially moving moment was when a third-grade Cheder Chabad class sang at the event. A colleague shared that even though the songs were in another language, everything was communicated through the expressions and presence of the children themselves. It was a reminder that connection doesn’t always require explanation — sometimes it’s simply felt,” she said.
Collaborating with the Jewish Museum of Maryland on this project was essential for the city, as their archives provided the photos that dot the walls of the exhibit and bring everything to life.
“Partnering with a respected cultural institution so near City Hall felt like a natural and thoughtful way to highlight the enduring presence of Jewish life in Baltimore,” Mark said.
The exhibit is large and varied, which is by design. A menorah stands tall as a symbol of Jewish resilience, but Jewish culture is deeply woven into Baltimore, and Jewish residents of Charm City deserve more than just a Chanukah candle lighting, Frost said.
“Presenting the exhibit across four walls allowed viewers to move through traditions and family moments rather than see a single symbol in isolation,” she said.
For Jewish communities across the nation and world, celebrating Chanukah openly and publicly this year meant something different after the terror attacks at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia that killed 15 people. Mark said that it is a part of Jewish life to stand tall against forces that fight the community — just like in the ancient story of Chanukah.
“Jewish tradition offers guidance in moments like these, calling for care and resolve rather than retreat. At the same time, Baltimore is a city that stands behind the right of all faith communities to worship and celebrate openly — and those values reinforce one another,” Mark said.
