The theme of the 4th edition of The Jerusalem Biennale is For Heaven's Sake! It opens on 10th October and runs till 28th November 2019 and the painting will feature in the Not in Heaven section at the Van Leer Institute, Jerusalem.

The key themes Beverley-Jane explores are diversity, identity, inclusiveness and exclusiveness. The composition From Kabbalah to Avoidance calls for tolerance and understanding in a divided world and is the precursor to a larger piece of artwork that is based on the last remaining Romanian wooden synagogue in, Piatra Neamt dedicated to the memory of the Baal Shem Tov who retired there. 

Beverley-Jane chose to represent the Baal Shem Tov, because he was an inspirational 18th Century Jewish leader who brought prayer to the people. He understood the importance of inclusiveness, tolerance and acceptance, his non-judgemental outlook influenced and moulded his thousands of followers and still has influence today. 

Beverley-Jane carries the Baal Shem’s Tov's belief of tolerance and acceptance through to modern times, an attitude she shares, and this painting questions our approach to diversity today. Her work raises the question of how much Jews, in our own greater community, the orthodox and the secular, reach out to people of different lifestyles, how accepting are we as Jews and asks why we can’t be more understanding of each other. 

Beverley-Jane asks us to break down the walls that divide us as Jews, as she believes that we are becoming more separated and isolated in our own groups.

In the painting, the cohesiveness expressed by the Baal Shem Tov is shattered. His facial profile, which is shaped as a jig-saw becomes detached. The pieces, depicting different religious elements within Judaism, are scattered. Jews become disconnected, forming hostile gaps, which develop into unnecessary prejudices and split us further. 

Beverley-Jane believes that as Jews we need to be open to our diversity and strengths. To welcome everything these different segments of society bring together as a nation. The jigsaw shapes idealise the idea that we can all fit together, but Beverley-Jane’s fear, that if we are too disjointed as a race, we will lose our strength. Individuals will feel rejected, identity will be lost and our power will be weakened. The jig-saw images have lost their cohesiveness and people begin to fall into the blank, dark abyss. 

“To the outside world a Jew is a Jew, yet to each other, we are increasingly departmentalising ourselves from each other. I believe in cohesion, people have a right to live their own lives, but we need to strive to understand and embrace each other’s differences. I am driven to get this message out there into the world. We need to be tolerant and open, Jews are a family and in a family you have to bring everyone together, we are building too many walls”, says Beverley-Jane. 

Beverley-Jane Stewart, a British artist, a visual story teller who is known for her figurative art. Her art is an expression of her love and fascination for Jewish social history and she uses her unique creativity to document events and tell stories that span centuries, yet also have themes that highlight important issues that are relevant to the way we live today. 

Beverley Jane Stewart who often works in Europe, “I am very pleased and honoured to be chosen to show my work at the Jerusalem Biennale. It is an honour to return to the Biennale after showing my Balfour Centenary painting there in 2017”. 

Her work for the Jerusalem Biennale is to be translated into a larger painting to be shown later at a solo exhibition in the Artists House in Tel Aviv 19th November - 12th December 2020. 

About Beverley-Jane Stewart 

Beverley Jane Stewart lives and works in London. 

Beverley-Jane will be showing her work at several other high-profile solo exhibitions at prestigious venues and galleries in Israel, Italy and Romania, in the coming 24 months. 

In Italy, 2020 there will be three more solo exhibitions called ' Stories in Brush' to be held at Cymbalista and Jewish Heritage Centre at Tel Aviv University - 5th January - 20th February, Casale Monferrato- 22nd March - 26th April and Bologna Jewish Museum, date to be confirmed. 

Beverley-Jane was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a member of Croydon Art Society for professional artists. She has exhibited at The Guild Hall and later shown at the South Bank where she received two awards; The Evening Standard ‘For London at Play’ and ‘The Artists Book Club’. 

As a visual writer, she looks in intricate detail at how Jewish heritage operates in contemporary multi-cultural society fusing facts with emotions. She tells the story of the Jews from past to present, displaying history in its various periods, a rollercoaster in time. 

Her commissioned painting on 125 years of the United Synagogue hangs in their head office and she has had numerous publications including the cover for Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’ book ‘Community of Faith’ and the cover and illustrations for the book ‘The Jewish Community of Golders Green: A Social History' by bestselling author Pam Fox. 

About the 2019 Jerusalem Biennale October 10th – November 28th – various locations in Jerusalem 

The theme for the Jerusalem Biennale 2019 is LeShem Shamayim (For Heaven’s Sake!). It puts an emphasis on the motivation of an act rather than on the act itself, and connects it with, of all things, arguments and disagreements.