And I Saw New Heavens and a New Earth

Discover the extraordinary lives of Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, two visionary, gender-nonconforming artists and activists of the 20th century who lived their values in the face of persecution under Nazi occupation. Associated with the early Surrealism movement, they embraced art and daily life alike as deliberate acts of resistance.

Combining photographs, historical documents, drawings, and ephemera—alongside experimental storytelling by writer and oral historian Svetlana Kitto—And I Saw New Heavens and a New Earth celebrates their creative output, enduring partnership, and courageous political commitments.

Through a literary and immersive presentation, the exhibition unfolds a dynamic narrative that connects objects with layered histories. Visitors will encounter the surprising familial ties that first brought these two women together in the early 1900s and sustained their lifelong bond, as well as their steadfast commitment to gender self-determination.

The exhibition also traces their underground resistance during World War II, when they opposed the Nazi occupation—acts that led to their arrest, imprisonment, and death sentences.

In illuminating these histories, And I Saw New Heavens and a New Earth offers a richer, more holistic portrait of Moore and Cahun’s artistic innovation, personal devotion, and defiant courage.