150-year old Jewish cemetery chosen to join prestigious arts app

London’s Willesden Jewish Cemetery is the first Jewish cemetery globally to be featured on an app providing online access to cultural sites around the world.

The Bloomberg Connects app – which is free – offers digital access to exhibitions, collections and artists at more than 500 museums, galleries, sculpture parks and gardens.

Now that Willesden Cemetery has been added, people can explore information about the historic Jewish cemetery – founded in 1873 by the United Synagogue – and access images, audio recordings, a walking tour and a digital exhibition of archives. The content is available in 40 languages, including Hebrew.

Willesden Jewish Cemetery charts the development of London’s Jewish community over 150 years. Nearly 30,000 men, women and children from a wide diversity of backgrounds have been laid to rest there since 1873 and people are still buried in the cemetery today.

Miriam Marson, head of heritage at the United Synagogue, said: “We are thrilled to be joining Bloomberg Connects and delighted that through the app many more people will have the opportunity to explore the historic Willesden Jewish Cemetery – both online and in person – and learn about the stories of the fascinating people buried here.

“We know Bloomberg Connects were impressed by the breadth of stories the team have researched and made available and I want to pay tribute to our small team including many dedicated and knowledgeable volunteers who have worked on creating new audio and visual content for the app.

“Their contributions will improve access to our history and enhance the visitor experience. This is a proud moment for our team and for the Jewish community more widely: all major cultural institutions in the United States are affiliated with Bloomberg in the art world and we are honoured to be in such illustrious company.”

The prestigious app is run by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the foundation established by American Jewish philanthropist and businessman Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg Philanthropies created the app as a part of their mission to make art and culture accessible to all.

Soon to be added to the app are the Centre for Contemporary Art in Tel Aviv and the Museum of Jewish Art and History in Paris.

• Download the app here and search for Willesden Jewish Cemetery. For more information about volunteering, click here.