It’s been six months since the devastating attack at Nova Music Festival in October 2023, where Hamas militants invaded the event at sunrise, killing 370 people from the concert and holding 44 people hostage at the electronic dance music festival celebrating the Jewish holiday Simchat Torah.
Since then, thousands of Israeli and Palestinian people have been killed as the violence and conflict continues, despite pleas for a ceasefire in Gaza. To remember those who have lost their lives at the festival and beyond, the Nova Music Festival founders are teaming up with creative director Reut Feingold to bring a remembrance installation to New York City this spring.
The exhibition, titled The Nova Music Festival Exhibition: October 7th 06:29AM, first premiered in Tel Aviv for 10 weeks and will be open to the public in NYC in April, with the exact date and location to be announced in the coming weeks.
The installation includes remains salvaged from the festival grounds, including scorched cars, bullet-riddled bathroom stalls and personal belongings all left behind. Nova survivors of the brutal attack will be also attending the exhibition, per a press release. There will additionally be a healing tent, a lighthouse with the declaration, “We will dance again.”
Donations from the exhibition will go to the Nova Healing Journey, an initiative that supports mental health treatment for victims and families of the October 7 massacre.
The Nova founders include Omri Sassi, Yoni Feingold, Ofir Amir and Yagil Rimoni, and the United States partners for the exhibition include Scooter Braun, Joe Teplow and Josh Kadden.