In this episode of Arts First, I interview artist Caren Garfen. This is part of a special series where we talk to artists who have experienced antisemitism through cancellation in one form or another.
Caren is an award winning artist who makes exquisite thought-provoking, miniature works. Many of them are textile-based and she often uses found materials and collage. She transforms everyday objects into finely crafted pieces with meticulous hand stitching and detailing. I was surprised how moved I was when I visited her exhibition at her home studio in north London. The exhibition was there because she has been frustrated by recent rejections of her work. She is proud of the quality of her artworks which, over recent years have reflected on the historic and current plight of Jews and Israel, and believes they deserve to be seen.
I first met Caren at a conference on antisemitism, where a number of Jewish artists expressed their dismay at being ostracised. Their art was being rejected and cancelled because of their alliance with Israel. This isn’t necessarily done in an obvious way, but in a variety of responses by the art world.
Over the years Caren has explored many themes, particularly focusing on women’s issues, but several years ago her focus shifted as she became aware that antisemitism is not a thing of the past but is evidently on the rise again.
In this interview, we first talk about Caren’s development as an artist, and then we look at some of her work in the exhibition. Finally, we discuss how antisemitism in the arts has affected her.
I am not keen on political art or the politicisation of art, because it can be so shouty. But I don’t think Caren’s work is narrowly political or at all shouty. Working in miniature, it quietly but insistently memorialises individuals who were tragically murdered because they were Jewish. As she points out, her work is about memory: recording the names and details of people whose lives were cruelly cut short by atrocities expressing the worst of humanity’s capacity for cruelty. It’s a process of witnessing something that should never have happened and must never be forgotten or repeated.
Since meeting Caren I visited Israel, and attended the Yom HaShoah commemoration ceremonies at Yad Vashem, World Holocaust Memorial Center in Jerusalem. One of the missions of this centre is “to collect, examine and publish testimony of the disaster and the heroism it called forth…”. Many who were murdered in the Holocaust remain unknown but painstaking work is done to name and document as many as possible, to make them a recognised part of Jewish history, and European history. Likewise, since the October 7 massacre of Israelis by Hamas, all over Israel there are memorials to every individual that was murdered, detailing they lives which were so full of potential. Caren’s work is very much within this Jewish tradition of keeping the memory of the past alive by remembering the people who lived before us and made the world we live in. Her delicate creations humanise them as individuals: they are not just numbered victims of atrocities.
Caren, no doubt, has a particular viewpoint — one that abhors all manifestations of antisemitism. But her artworks do not insist on a specific line of thought. Instead, they are gentle observations, focusing one’s attention on what happened in the Holocaust and on October 7, leading us to wonder at her meticulous research, careful skill and imaginative use of her materials. I think her work is beautiful and meaningful enough to stand as a long-lasting testament to something we must never forget.
Caren has an excellent website where listeners to this podcast can view a wide range of her artworks.
When I went to interview Caren I recorded a short video of the exhibits, view below or on our YouTube channel, and I have added relevant links for each of the art works that she talks about.
Works mentioned:
Caren’s work is featured in the Women Create event May 30 & 31 2025
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