The CANVAS Compendium: Dispatches from the New Jewish Renaissance
Dear Reader,
This issue of Compendium marks our 100th newsletter. It’s been a massive, and massively rewarding, undertaking to produce this publication over the past few years. The newsletter, like CANVAS itself, emerged during the pandemic but had been in the works for many years prior. As signs of a 21st century Jewish cultural Renaissance continued to emerge, surprise, and dazzle us, we looked for a way to share with a broader audience what we see every day in our work with artists and arts organizations.
Our answer was Compendium: a collection of dispatches from the Renaissance. We’ve brought attention to cultural creatives of all kinds, from authors and cartoonists to actors and chefs. We’ve invited artists to reflect on their favorite artists, and we’ve highlighted the essential work of organizations bringing the artwork to life and championing this creative sector.
Below, you’ll find a list of staff favorites from the first 100. If yours isn’t listed, please let us know!
Although we’re not seven years into the work just yet, Compendium is taking a shmita — a sabbatical — while we focus on our grantmaking, leadership development, and elevating the field through projects like the President’s Council on the Arts and the Humanities’ Artists For Understanding initiative. It’s all part of our ongoing effort to support and strengthen the ecosystem of Jewish arts and culture.
I want to acknowledge all the writers and artists who contributed to this work — we value good reporting and intelligent criticism and we are proud to be in partnership with you all.
In particular, I want to recognize the efforts of our intrepid editor, Gordon Haber. No one can take greater pride in this collection than Gordon. No one wrote more Compendium pieces, wrangled more interviews, or identified more subjects to feature. I’ve worked with many editors over the course of my career as an editor, writer, and publisher and I’ve never met any who approached the work with Gordon’s level of intelligence, depth, and curiosity.
So as you peruse this body of work, take note of the byline. In all likelihood, this slice of the Renaissance has been brought to you by Gordon Haber.
With thanks as always for your interest and support,
Lou
Founder + President
From “Cartoonist” to “Jewish Artist”:
How Jewish Arts and Culture Networks Gave Me Inspiration and Confidence
Self-portrait of the artist at work. Courtesy Jake Goldwasser.
CANVAS focuses on Jewish arts and culture networks, media outlets, and distribution. So it’s a real treat when we hear from an individual artist on how they’ve benefited from these inflection points. Jake Goldwasser, a writer and cartoonist, shared an illustrated essay on how Asylum Arts and The New Jewish Culture Fellowship (both CANVAS Network Grantees) helped him reconsider his Jewish identity and even how he thinks about himself as an artist. It’s a personal story, but it is also the story of the 3,000+ artists across our Network Grantee partners. Read it here.
The Things They Carried:
“What Would You Bring” Shares Refugee Stories Through Objects
Violet Sassooni fled Iran in 1979. Sophie Herxheimer illustrated her What Would You Bring story.
What Would You Bring asks refugees to tell their own stories through the lens of the objects they brought with them, accompanied by illustrations or animation. Created by Rebooters Juliet Simmons and Noam Dromi, the project is a moving way to individualize trauma and displacement. Published in 2021, the piece is even more relevant today as an example of finding the universal in the particular and encouraging empathy for the human struggle. We also asked artists whose work we admire to share the objects that symbolize migrations in their own lives. Read it here.
The People of the Bong: “Jews and Cannabis” at YIVO
“We’re gonna need more latkes.” Tokin’ Jew shofar-pipe (YIVO Archives)
The world of Jewish arts and culture is full of unexpected juxtapositions. In this case, YIVO’s 2022 exhibit “Am Yisrael High: The Story of Jews and Cannabis” revealed the surprising—and surprisingly long-standing-connections between hemp and the Hebrews. The exhibit of course was amusing, but it also revealed the ways in which Jewish entrepreneurs often resorted to gray areas to make a living, since historically many other avenues were closed off to Jews. Read it here.
Jewish Arts and Culture for Hope and Solace
Photo: Ilana Shckolnick-Backal via the PikiWiki – Israel free image collection project
In the aftermath of October 7th, the rhetoric was overwhelmingly bleak, and it seemed impossible for Israelis and Jews in the diaspora to find ways of processing their grief. But then we noticed how many of our grantees were doing just that—using arts and culture to articulate trauma and look beyond violence. Then and now, we have no easy answers about how to stop the fighting. But we still believe in the transformative power of the arts to illuminate what unites us. Read it here. Also see our piece on interfaith arts and culture projects and arts and culture initiatives around the world promoting healing and renewal.
Coincidences Are God’s Way of Staying Anonymous”
An excerpt from the comic by Julian Voloj and Wagner Willian.
In the piece above about “What Would You Bring?,” writer Julian Voloj shared the object he carries on his travel—a commentary on Genesis written by his great-grandfather. In a lovely comic illustrated by Wagner Willian, Voloj tells the story of how he found the book by going to the wrong synagogue in Budapest. Read it here.
“It’s Complicated: Jews in Theatre, TV, and Film on “Jewface”
Kathryn Hahn as Rabbi Raquel in Transparent.
You may recall the controversy over “Jewface,” or casting non-Jewish actors in Jewish roles for theatre, film, and TV. We tasked a reporter with untangling how the issue came up and to find out what Jewish people involved in casting—actors, artistic directors, theatremakers, and TV creators—think about it. Their answers will surprise you. Read it here.
The Jewish Food Renaissance: Groundbreaking Jewish Food Experts on Their Inspiration and Influences
Albondigas Di Karne Kon Tomato (Meatballs Poached in Tomato Sauce). Courtesy Jewish Food Society.
Over the course of 100 newsletters, we shared stories about poets and novelists, visual artists, theatre artists, jewelry designers, musicians and more. We love them all. But one of our favorite pieces was on Jewish food and how a new generation of cooks are expanding the notion of Jewish food without forgetting what came before—looking backwards to go forwards, as it were. The piece also inspired a lot of delightful research. Read it here.
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