“Natural Allies”: In a difficult time, museum professionals are reimagining the future of identity-based institutions
In the current environment of toxic bigotry and political polarization, how should cultural institutions respond?
“An Incredible Match”: On the Creation of a Play about Jewish Divorce
Rattlestick’s exciting (and very Jewish) new production is the result of a collaboration between the theater company and a synagogue.
From “Cartoonist” to “Jewish Artist”: How Jewish Arts and Culture Networks Gave Me Inspiration and Confidence
Artist and poet Jake Goldwasser explains how Asylum Arts and The New Jewish Culture Fellowship helped him reconsider his Jewish identity and how he thinks about himself as an artist.
A Nosh from the Buffet: Selections from CANVAS Media Grantees
Last week we filled you in on fall offerings from our Jewish arts and culture network grantees. This week, we’re bringing you up to date on another important focus for CANVAS: media grantees.
A Cornucopia of Jewish Arts and Culture: Fall Offerings from CANVAS Grantees
This autumn is a big one for CANVAS grantees. We’ve got the High Holidays coming, as well as a return to in-person events—and a continuation of on-line offerings as well.
CANVAS Year Two: Moving Forward, Looking Back
This is the time of year when we share what we at CANVAS have been up to. It’s our annual peek behind the curtain to help explain our grantmaking and field-building efforts for the Jewish arts and culture world. It is also a chance to share how we’ve grown.
The Creative, Strategic Philanthropy of the Azrieli Foundation
During his lengthy career, David Azrieli (1922-2014) was responsible for some of the largest real estate projects in Canada and Israel. But Azrieli was more than an extraordinary businessperson; he was extraordinarily civic-minded as well.
Jewish Art Salon: An International Network of Artists and Scholars
With over 400 members, JAS is the largest network for artists, curators, and scholars who work with contemporary Jewish art. Through its auspices, artists and arts professionals have seen their careers elevated, their community strengthened, and above all, found a place where Jewish expression is encouraged.
Artists on Artists: Yevgeniy Fiks and Maria Veits
The CANVAS Compendium returns from summer hiatus with an installment of Artists on Artists, when Jewish creatives share the work of Jewish artists they admire. This time we invited Yevgeniy Fiks and Maria Veits to choose artists, as their multinational project, Yiddishland Pavilion, is currently fascinating visitors online and at the Venice Biennale. Yevgeniy Fiks is a Moscow-born New York-based artist, author, and organizer of art exhibitions. His work is inspired by the collapse of the...
Kultura Collective: Fostering Collaboration and Jewish Creativity in Toronto
“Toronto’s arts and culture scene is one to watch, and its Jewish ecosystem within it is thriving with world-class creativity.” So said Sam Mogelonsky, and she should know. Not only is she an accomplished visual artist, curator, and designer in her own right, she also is Director of Arts, Culture, and Heritage for the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, and she heads up the Kultura Collective, an exciting UJA Federation of Greater Toronto initiative promoting bridge-building opportunities...
Seeing Ourselves on the Page:
The Global Impact of PJ Library
Born and raised in rural Vermont, Naomi Shulman was one of only three Jewish kids at her school. The books she read when she was younger had “incidentally Jewish” characters, if they had them at all.Later, as a burgeoning children’s book author and mother of two, Shulman noticed there were still very few books that spoke to her own experience. So she wrote her own.“I wanted to represent rural Jewish life,” Shulman said. “Yitzi, The Trusty Tractor was the kind of book I wish I had been able to...
Jewish American Heritage Month!
May is Jewish American Heritage Month! We’re delighted to point Compendium readers towards some of the fabulous work being done by CANVAS grantees both in the U.S. and beyond.
The People of the Bong: “Jews and Cannabis” at YIVO
On a pleasant weeknight in New York City, there was a celebratory atmosphere outside the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. The mood was closer perhaps to a Phish show than an elevating cultural event, with a mix of ages and a little more tie-dye than usual.
What Brings Us Together As Jews?
It’s Jewish American Heritage Month. We thought about the origins of the community and how it has evolved.
“The power of building community” — Welcome C.O.O. Sarah Burford
The CANVAS community is growing! We are excited to welcome one more creative professional: Our new Chief Operating Officer, Sarah Burford.
“What Else Could This Mess Be?”: How the Jewish Studio Project Uses Jewish Texts for Creativity and Healing
Passover and Purim have something in common aside from permission to drink—both holidays have clear heroes and villains. But Rabbi Adina Allen of the Jewish Studio Project has a way of re-exploring these stories in interesting ways without compromising their Jewishness—and of using Hebrew texts to foster empathy and creativity.
Jewish Museums: Hidden Gems
With pandemic restrictions easing, many of us are thinking about traveling again. With that in mind, we thought we’d point out a few Jewish museums that you may have overlooked.
The Jewish Book Council: A Tireless Advocate for Jewish Letters
This week, we continue our series on CANVAS grantees by delving into the Jewish Book Council (JBC), a unique organization indefatigably promoting Jewish authors and their work. As well as piquing your interest in JBC, we hope it inspires you to buy some books.
Hear, O Israel: The Expanding World of Jewish Podcasts
It seems like everybody and their cousin has started a podcast. This isn’t surprising: it’s an enjoyable and portable form, and it’s been exciting to see Jewish creatives get involved. But as with other forms, it can be difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff.
“It’s Complicated”: Jews in Theatre, TV, and Film on “Jewface”
“Jewface,” or casting non-Jewish actors in Jewish roles, is an ongoing transatlantic controversy in theatre, film, and TV. We asked what Jewish people involved in casting—actors, artistic directors, theatremakers, and TV creators—think about it.
Artists on Artists: Julia Vogl and Gabriella Willenz
“Artists on Artists” is one of our favorite things at the Compendium, when we turn over the keys to Jewish artists we admire so they can share the work of Jewish artists they admire. This week it’s Julia Vogl and Gabriella Willenz, two brilliant interdisciplinary artists.
Spotlight on Ukraine: What’s at Risk and How to Help
CANVAS is a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening the field of Jewish arts and culture. We founded this newsletter to amplify the work of our grantees and highlight the creativity of Jewish artists and writers. This week, however, we’d like to expand that notion and focus on Ukraine.
The Workshop: An Arts and Culture Fellowship for JOCISM (Jews of Color, Indigenous Jews, Sephardi, and Mizrahi)
The Workshop: a new arts and culture fellowship for JOCISM (Jews of Color, Indigenous Jews, Sephardi, and Mizrahi). Now in its first year, The Workshop is a program in which its seven inaugural fellows develop new work, study Jewish texts, and develop their careers.
The People of the Book Are Rethinking (and Remaking) Books
Jewish artists and writers are taking matters into their own hands by designing, publishing, and distributing new works.
“My Mind Is Swiss Cheese”: Jewish creatives on staying productive during the never-ending pandemic
Every week, as I put together this newsletter, I am astonished by the continuing creativity from Jewish artists and writers. In a time of political uncertainty and rising antisemitism, during a global pandemic, people keep creating, investigating their heritage and identity in interesting and meaningful ways.