March 5 – April 30, 2026
About This Exhibition
There Is Always an & is the signature photography exhibition of the Ampersand Project, a first-of-its-kind documentation initiative exploring the layered identities of Jews across Maine.
At its core, There Is Always an & is a celebration of complexity — who we are cannot be reduced to one story or one truth. Each person contains multitudes. Our identities shift over time, shaped by heritage and history, place and possibility, joy and loss. The ampersand reflects the expansive nature of Jewish life in Maine: personal and communal, rooted and restless, traditional and innovative, ancient and forward-looking. Each portrait invites viewers to embrace the fluid, unfinished, and surprising stories that shape us.
In just six weeks, Israeli photographer Hedva Rokach traveled more than 7,000 miles, documenting Jewish life across the state. She met with nearly 300 Jewish Mainers — more than 1% of the statewide Jewish population — creating an unprecedented portrait of community that spans coastal towns and inland villages, urban neighborhoods and rural backroads, established congregations and emerging micro-communities.
The exhibition features almost 200 photographic portraits, each accompanied by a brief narrative. A number of portraits also include QR links to video interviews, allowing visitors to hear directly from participants in their own words and adding voice, movement, memory, and emotional texture to the still images on the wall.
Together, these portraits and interviews form the seeds of a truly statewide visual archive of Jewish life in Maine today: diverse, unexpected, intimate, and profoundly connected.
We are never just one thing.
We are always becoming.
There is always an &
About the Artist
Hedva Rokach is an Israeli photographer whose work is rooted in trust, presence, and human connection. Trained at the Beit Berl College, her portraiture explores questions of belonging, memory, and lived experience. For There Is Always an &, Rokach traveled more than 7,000 miles throughout Maine, photographing almost 300 Jewish Mainers — 200 of whom are featured in this exhibition, with all 300 included in the accompanying art book, Faces & Facets of Jewish Life in Maine. Together, these works offer an extraordinary and previously unseen visual record of Jewish life in the state.
Melissa Martens Yaverbaum, Co-Guest Curator
Melissa Martens Yaverbaum is a museum professional and cultural strategist whose work centers on American Jewish history and contemporary culture. She has led major exhibition initiatives across the U.S. and is recognized for innovative approaches to Jewish material culture, narrative interpretation, and community engagement. As Co-Guest Curator, she guides the interpretive framework and design ethos of There Is Always an &, ensuring that each portrait is contextualized within broader histories of migration, identity, and lived Jewish experience. She is an arts leader in Maine, and serves as the Executive Director of Portland Ballet.
Dawn LaRochelle, Co-Guest Curator
Dawn LaRochelle is the Executive Director of the Maine Jewish Museum and the creative force behind the Ampersand Project. A lifelong storyteller, community builder, and advocate for dialogue across difference, she has helped expand the Museum’s role as a resource for Maine Jewish history, culture, and art through collaborative partnerships and statewide programming. Dawn brings extensive experience in program curation, nonprofit leadership, and relationship-building, along with a deep belief that narrative can open hearts, foster belonging, and inspire cross-cultural understanding.
Thursday, March 5, 2026
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Mingle with artists and art lovers, enjoy wine and cheese with museum mavens and curious minds, and celebrate with us as we unveil our newest exhibitions!
All images copyright of the artist, unless otherwise noted; reproduction not allowed without express permission
Website by WEBFIX STUDIO.