With origins in the material culture of pre-war Poland, Lucky Jews are small figurines or painted pictures of Jews with one or more coins. Though they may look like antisemitic caricatures to Jewish eyes, they are still widely bought and sold across Poland as good-luck charms. FestivALT’s performance brings the figurine of the Lucky Jew to life. For several afternoons, a live Lucky Jew will appear in the public space of Kazimierz to sell self-made lucky images of himself to all who desire 100% luck from a real-live 100% Jew. This piece premiered at the inaugural edition of Festivalt in 2017, and is described in Jason Francisco’s photo-text essay. The second edition was during the Emaus Easter Festival Market, where all items for sale were purchased in less than 3 hours.
