Young Jewish artists gather in NY for unique retreat
Asylum Arts global network aims to engage more people with Jewish ideas, identity and community through vibrant Jewish and Israeli cultural landscapes.
The retreat is being organized by Asylum Arts, a first-of-its-kind global network of Jewish artists that has recently launched with the support of the Schusterman Philanthropic Network and aims to engage more people with Jewish ideas, identity and community through the vibrant Jewish and Israeli cultural landscapes.
Asylum Arts supports contemporary Jewish culture worldwide, bringing greater exposure to artists and cultural initiatives, providing opportunities for new projects and collaborations and elevating the level of excellence and artistic activity.
Asylum Arts International Jewish Artist Retreat will bring together visual artists, playwrights, choreographers, musicians, composers, photographers, filmmakers, screenwriters, poets, and writers. Artists were selected for being outstanding in their fields and for their dedication to careers creating new works.
Participants include Rafram Chaddad, from Tunisia and Israel, who is a photographer and food expert; Menachem Kaiser, from America and Eastern Europe, a writer who has also recently created and launched reVilna, an interactive map of the Vilna ghetto; Joel Waldman, from Bogotá, Colombia, who is a self-taught musician who wrote music for the musicians of Whitney Houston’s 2010 World Tour; Ildikó Hermann, from Hungary, who is an award-winning documentary photographer; and Itai Gal, also known as Ricky Riot, a musician from America, who is part of the band Schmekel, the only all-transgender, all-Jewish, shtick-rock band.
"Artists bring meaning and beauty to the world. The din of creativity and the gathering of the Asylum Arts participants with all of their creative energy make a larger imprint for both those who are at the gathering and in world at large," says Rebecca Guber, director of Asylum Arts.
"We believe that empowering Jewish artists from around the globe to advance their careers helps to broaden Jewish culture and the collective Jewish narrative in the world."
Asylum Arts International Jewish Artist Retreat was created as part of Schusterman Connection Points, an initiative launched by the Schusterman Philanthropic Network, a global enterprise that supports and creates innovative initiatives for the purpose of igniting the passion and unleashing the power in young people to create positive change in Jewish communities and beyond. Additional support is provided by Genesis Philanthropy Group and Righteous Persons Foundation.
"Asylum Arts is a singular opportunity for young Jewish artists to build powerful relationships and together create ways to connect young Jews to Jewish community through arts and culture, and it will help forge a much-needed global network of Jewish artists and organizations," says Lynn Schusterman, chair of the Schusterman Philanthropic Network.
"I believe young people hold the key to building a vibrant global Jewish future, and we must invest in their passion and potential to do so."
