ניו יורק JCC
“Books That Changed My Life” festival is an annual festival that celebrates literature. With more than forty different events and meetings, this festival is one of the flagship events of the JCC and is becoming one of cultural staples in New York City.
We designed a pop-up library for the main stage area of the festival, which turned it into a focal point for kids and families to come and feel belonging.
“You need something scary to overcome.” — Margaret Atwood
This year at the Books That Changed My Life Festival at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, we embraced the monsters—those haunting, fascinating creatures of literature that reflect our deepest fears and wildest imaginations.
The lobby transformed into an enchanted realm of books and beasts. At our “Create Your Own Monster” station, imaginations ran wild. Nearby, a mysterious well invited visitors to peer into the phenomenon of pareidolia—seeing faces where none exist. The heart of the pop-up library was an artful exhibit tracing the evolution of monsters through the lens of literature and visual culture. We curated the exhibit with the intention of blurring the boundaries between fantasy, fear, and beauty.
The festival’s identity came to life through a unified visual language—posters, flyers, bookmarks, and signage—all designed to echo the eerie elegance of this year’s theme.
Over 3,000 people took part in the two-month celebration, which included more than 40 events and author conversations. Each guest had the chance to take a book, step into
2024 - we designed a new Pop–Up library at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan and curated an art exhibit. The theme this year surrounded the first lines of books. We compiled a list with the best first lines from books of all times (including the oldest book in the world), and we asked artists, photographers, and AI artists to bring us their take on these beautifully written words. It resulted in a breathtaking exhibit that made viewers rethink every book they read. We also designed a fresh new look for the library area, creating an inclusive space for all families to enjoy. Our goal was to make them feel at home but also to inspire people to take a book and read in a different world than they usually used to.
2023 - We curated an exhibition of book covers from archives of the largest book publishers in the world.
“Don’t judge a book by its cover” well, we did. Covers are the door to the book, we asked ourselves, how do you tell the story of a book in one front page? How do you make the reader at a book's store pick this one up? We looked at hundreds upon hundreds of books covers and hand-picked the most creative, artistic one. The exhibition, made from dozens of book covers, told a story of storytelling in a magical way.