Seven new things to see from the revamped Jewish Museum

With a collection of more than 25,000 works — from portraits and ceramics, photographs and textiles — deciding what to showcase and what to leave out has not been a straightforward task for the team redesigning the Jewish Museum of Australia (JMA) in Melbourne.

One solution is the use of an annual theme to help guide the curation of the museum's new offering. This year, the theme is "music, rhythm and movement".

Head of collections Esther Gyorki was struck by many special pieces never seen before as she worked on the museum's revamp over the past three months. She is also exciting by the new way familiar objects have been curated to tell different stories and enable more interactive experiences. Here are some of her highlights.

1. Hana and Child by Nina Sanadze

A shocking 1942 photograph of a mother and child held at gunpoint inspired sculptor Nina Sanadze to create more than 300 works exploring the relationship between a mother and child in times of terror. The museum is displaying a small selection of the ceramics, eerily reminiscent of a Michelangelo Pieta.

"I find them so moving and so strong, and one element that I find beautiful is that these works were made by Nina and her mother... sitting at the kitchen table, talking, surrounded by a very domestic environment, making these deep, important works."