The work consists of a helium-filled, double-layer aerostat designed to resemble a shtetl synagogue resting atop a giant rock.
By Shula Rosen
A Ukrainian Jew sent a giant floating synagogue above the Venetian Lagoon earlier this month as part of the Venice Biennale, presenting the installation as a symbol of Jewish identity and resilience at a time of rising polarization and hostility.
The installation, titled Nabatele, was created by artist and architect Anna Kamyshan and is scheduled to rise 45 meters above the water.
Approved as part of the Venice Biennale’s Collateral Events program, the work consists of a helium-filled, double-layer aerostat designed to resemble a shtetl synagogue resting atop a giant rock.
The project draws partial inspiration from René Magritte’s 1959 painting The Castle of the Pyrenees.
“Nabatele aims to bring a new level of visibility, recognition, and representation of Jewish culture, heritage and identity – both to the world at large and to Jewish communities themselves – which feels especially urgent today, at a moment marked by increasing polarization, fear and hostility,” the project’s notes state. “In this context, Nabatele aims to stand as a powerful symbol of hope, resilience and continuity for the global Jewish community.”
The installation’s name is derived from the Hebrew word nabat, a call to attention in moments of danger, combined with the Yiddish diminutive ele.
Kamyshan said the illuminated synagogue windows are intended to evoke the ner tamid, the eternal light found in synagogues, offering “inner light as a response to the turbulence and uncertainty of our time.”
Originally conceived as an AI-generated video titled The Castle of Yiddishland, the concept evolved into Nabatele after being selected as one of the Biennale’s collateral events.
Curator Yevgeniy Fiks told The Art Journal that the Yiddishland Pavilion seeks to explore identity through “movement, memory and language” rather than national borders, while co-founder Maria Veits described the project as an alternative to the Biennale’s nation-based pavilion system.
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