The Nova Music Festival Exhibition, a profound tribute to the unifying power of music, lives lost and survivors of the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, is coming to Toronto from April 23 through June 8.
Marking its first time in Canada, the installation is a must-see experience, essential to remembering, understanding and empathizing with what happened that day and who it happened to.
“The Lawfare Project Canada is proud to bring the Nova Music Festival Exhibition to Toronto. While the exhibition honors the victims and survivors of the terrorist attack at the Nova music festival, it also fosters allyship as it educates and highlights the importance of defending human rights and reaffirming our democratic values,” said Brooke Goldstein, director of The Lawfare Project Canada.
On Oct. 6, 2023, thousands of music and arts fans gathered for a celebration of life, peace and music in Re’im, near the border with the Gaza Strip. At 6:29 a.m. the next morning, the peaceful festival was savagely cut short when thousands of Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, killing 1,200 people, including 370 who were at the music festival, four of whom were Canadian. Hamas also abducted more than 250 people, including 44 innocent civilians attending the festival.
“The story of the Nova music festival is one of strength, survival, love and community,” said Jesse Brown, lead Canadian representative for the Nova exhibition. “This exhibit is to honor and remember the victims while also hearing the heart-wrenching stories of survivors who remind the world that we will dance again.”
The exhibit is interactive, experiential, immersive and educational. Moving through recreated festival grounds with real artifacts and evidence on display and to interact with, attendees will witness firsthand footage and hear emotional testimonies from festival survivors and bereaved family members who will be onsite daily at the exhibit.
Surrounded by the actual artifacts from the festival—charred vehicles, bullet-ridden bathroom stalls, abandoned merchandise stands and scattered personal belongings left behind in the aftermath—visitors will experience the raw, lingering impact of the attack.
The exhibition honors more than the tragic events of Oct. 7, it celebrates the resilient spirit of the “Tribe of Nova” community in the immediate aftermath of that day, transforming profound loss into purposeful action.
“The Nova community is centered around light, and now more than ever we need to continue to spread that message,” said Ofir Amir, founder and producer of the Nova music festival. “It is important, as part of our core values, that we take care of our community, help lead in the rehabilitation of the Nova survivors and make our voices heard to the whole world.”
Toronto is the fourth-largest city in North America and home to the world’s third-largest Jewish community outside of Israel. With hate, intolerance and antisemitism on the rise in Canada, the exhibit’s impact can go beyond the exhibit, sparking awareness and education.
“This is not a political statement. It is a reflection of what happened at a festival dedicated to love and peace. It could have happened to you, your son or daughter or friend. Come meet the survivors, meet the bereaved families, and hear about the moment music stood still,” said Evan Zelikovitz, Canadian representative for the Nova exhibition.
The Nova Music Festival Exhibition was created, curated and directed by Reut Feingold. Since its opening in Tel Aviv in 2024 and with runs in New York, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires and Miami, it has attracted more than 300,000 visitors, including thousands of students, educators, political, faith-based and community leaders, including the mayors of New York, Los Angeles and Miami, and the Archbishop of New York.
Members of the music, sports and entertainment industries also attended the exhibit, including Diplo, SIA, Usher, Jessica Alba, Will Ferrell, Kristen Bell, David Schwimmer and Cindy Crawford.
The exhibit will be held in Toronto at a venue to be announced at a later date, utilizing more than 60,000 square feet of space, making it one of the largest exhibitions in Canadian history.
For tickets and information, visit: novaexhibition.com