The new downtown exhibit on the Oct. 7 Nova music festival massacre brings to mind a combination of the 9/11 Memorial and Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust museum. Entitled “The Nova Music Festival Exhibition: October 7th 06:29am – The Moment Music Stood Still,” the exhibit pays tribute to the 370 attendees killed by Hamas during the festival. Thousands of pieces of evidence, such as burnt out cars, bullet-pierced port-o-potties, and blood-soaked clothing, were shipped from Israel to recreate the scenes of devastation caused by the attack.
Ofir Amir, a co-founder of Nova who was shot in the legs during the attack, expressed the importance of creating this exhibition as a way for people to pay their respects to the victims and understand the magnitude of the tragedy. He described the attack as not just a terror attack, but something much bigger and biblical as they fight for survival every day. The exhibit was created by director and writer Reut Feingold, who aimed to give visitors the experience of the festival before the invasion of Hamas, allowing them to feel the journey and light in their hearts before the attack occurred.
The exhibit showcases the extreme violence that was unleashed on the music festival, with video installations capturing the confusion and terror of the day. Some pieces on display include personal items of victims, such as prayer books and yarmulkes, along with testimonies from survivors and rescue volunteers. One sign at the exhibit highlights how random decisions made on that day could mean the difference between life and death for attendees. Despite the darkness of the exhibit, it ends with a light-filled healing tent and lighthouse, symbolizing hope and resilience by declaring, “We will dance again.”
Visitors to the exhibit are brought face to face with the aftermath of the massacre, with evidence of the destruction caused by Hamas and the impact on the survivors. The exhibit aims to provide a somber and respectful space for people to reflect on the tragedy and remember the lives lost during the attack. Tickets for the exhibit start at $1, with options to add donations to support survivors of the Nova music festival massacre. Overall, the exhibition serves as a poignant reminder of the events of October 7th and the ongoing fight for survival faced by those impacted by the attack.
