SALTZMAN: Nova exhibition somber glimpse into Oct. 7 atrocities
Now in Toronto, the traveling exhibition also focuses on resilience and positivity
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Is it possible to witness the worst of humanity and be inspired by hope at the same time?
Somehow, the Nova Music Festival Exhibition –– now in Toronto until June 8 — manages to evoke emotions at both ends of the spectrum by the time you’ve walked through the installation.
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Both heart-wrenching and inspiring, the exhibition focuses, in part, on the unimaginable loss of 410 festival-goers (and employees and volunteers) killed in the surprise Hamas-led attack against Israel in the early morning of Oct. 7, 2023. Hundreds were injured and 43 violently kidnapped into the Gaza Strip from the Nova Music Festival, an open-air festival near kibbutz Re’im.
Four Canadians were murdered at the festival: Alexandre Look, 33, Ben Mizrahi, 22, Tiferet Lapidot, 23, and Shir Hana Georgy, 22.
In total, Oct. 7 — the deadliest attack against Jews since the Holocaust — terrorists massacred 1,200 people, and abducted 251 others, including children, the elderly, and the disabled.
This triggered a massive Israeli military offensive in Gaza, which continues today, and spawned other regional assaults against the only Jewish state by its adversarial neighbours in the Middle East.
The painful irony is the Nova Festival’s focus on “joy and unity,” though at about 6:29 a.m. — on the Jewish Sabbath and the holiday of Shemini Atzeret that concludes Sukkot — rockets were seen across in the sky, followed by attackers in powered paragliders, in trucks, and on motorcycles.
That fateful day, and the psychological and spiritual aftermath, is encapsulated into The Nova Music Festival Exhibition.
Toronto the only Canadian location
An installation that has traveled from Israel to the U.S. (New York, Los Angeles, and Miami), the Nova Music Festival Exhibition has landed in midtown Toronto, at the former Elte Mkt building at 1381 Castlefield Ave.
The massive, 60,000-square-foot venue will be the only Canadian stop before it makes its way to Europe.
Honouring the victims and survivors of the festival, “Witness. Reflect. Heal.” is a pervasive theme, punctuated by the defiant promise of “We Will Dance Again,” which also bears the name of a 2024 documentary film about the Nova festival massacre.
“The only thing that kept me going, that gave me the strength to come home, was my wife who was nine months pregnant on that day,” recounts survivor Ofir Amir, founder and producer of the Nova Music Festival, to Postmedia.
“We lost hundreds of our friends and tens were taken hostage, and so we had to do something to honour them,” expounds Amir, who produced the initial memorial in Tel Aviv, which would later become the Nova Music Festival Exhibition.
Amir, who was shot in both legs by gunmen on Oct. 7, adds “we realized this was much more than a memorial, to show that every one of the hundreds of victims had a name, face and story — and we quickly realized we had something special to show the world.”
“Plus, there’s so much hate and denial on social media, and with this (exhibition) we can educate, we can fight antisemitism,” asserts Amir.
While organizers are bracing for pro-Palestinian protesters, Nova Music Festival Exhibition is not about politics or religion.
So, what can you experience here?
Without giving too much away, the installation begins with a short and upbeat film about the Nova festival itself, its (mostly) young attendees, and the elation felt through music, dance, and a sense of community.
The majority of the exhibit, however, is shrouded in near darkness, with several large rooms adorned with real footage recorded by both terrorists (shot on GoPros) and from festivalgoers (captured on their actual smartphones) retrieved from the site. Along with descriptive signs to explain the significance of the various sections, you’ll wade through camping gear, burnt car skeletons, a market stand, bar, concert signage, and more – all preserved from the festival.
“This is not a museum,” reminds Amir. “We want you to touch what you can and interact with it.”
Near the end of the walkthrough, which takes about 90 minutes, various walls are strewn with names, ages and photos of victims, screens with testimonies from survivors, and other solemn tributes.
But instead of leaving with a heavy sense of loss and despair, the installation concludes by “entering the light once again,” explains Amir, to showcase “the strength and spirit of these people, renewed hope of this generation, and stepping up and taking care of each other.”
Even more impactful than the short film shown about survivors’ work around the world since Oct. 7 (as well as various placards to outline the several programs available for survivors to help heal), the Nova Music Festival Exhibition features a delegation of survivors, and bereaved family members of those murdered, you can talk to.
They will dance again
I sat down with 30-year-old Nitzan Schlezinger, whose father Assaf was murdered. Assaf, 57, was managing the medical operations at the Nova Festival, says his daughter, who was treating wounds on multiple people when he called 9-1-1 on the morning of Oct. 7 — the last time Schlezinger heard her father’s voice when the recording was released.
“About a year ago I found out one the people my father was treating was alive…she had a bullet in her thigh,” recalls Schlezinger. “She’s dancing again. She danced with us that evening.” Schlezinger said she found out her dad treated her boyfriend, too, who is also alive today.
“And so, I have been traveling to tell my father’s story, which is painful, sure, but it makes me feel closer to him, and helps with closure, as my father’s life had meaning,” shares Schlezinger, who works as a Pilates instructor in Israel.
“The exhibit is hard, but I like how you get back to the light after the darkness.”
When asked about worldwide protests against Israel’s response to the attack — on streets, college campuses, and social media — Schlezinger takes a long breath and looks at me in the eyes.
“This was music festival. No one wanted to harm anyone. They just wanted to dance, to love life.”
“Hopefully those who visit this exhibition will see that,” adds Schlezinger. “While it can be a difficult exhibit, it’s important to know what happened, the truth.”
“But even with all this tragedy, there is positivity. There is hope.”
– Marc Saltzman is the host of the Tech It Out podcast and the author of the book, Apple Vision Pro For Dummies (Wiley)
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