Schusterman Visiting Artist Program
About
One of the largest organized residency programs of Israeli artists ever to launch in the U.S., the Schusterman Visiting Artist Program, begun in fall 2008, offers an unprecedented opportunity for Americans to experience Israeli culture. The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation supports the new Schusterman Visiting Artists Program to provide Israeli artists from various disciplines with time spent in North America. These residencies last for two to nine months and take place at some of the nation's most esteemed universities and museums, JCCs and alternative cultural organizations. The program has a special focus on fostering high levels of interaction between the artists and the local communities where they are based.
Goals
The goal of the new program is to engage American audiences with Israeli artists, musicians, filmmakers, writers, and choreographers. Also, the program is intended to provide professional development experiences and cultural exposure for Israeli artists outside their home country. From fall 2008 through spring 2009, the foundation will support six visiting artists and will increase the number to twelve in the following year. Residencies will foster deeper impact and complement, for example, the more standard touring company performances and single readings by authors already underway across the U.S.
"We want to enable Americans to experience, in depth, the vibrant and creative face of Israel that is embodied in its artists, many of whom are doing some of the most exciting and innovative work anywhere in the world today," said Lynn Schusterman, chairperson of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and the Schusterman Foundation-Israel. "Right now, Israel is enjoying an unprecedented degree of success in several cultural realms, including film, music and choreography. Its visual artists also are showing in major museums outside Israel and achieving a degree of international recognition previously unknown. The artist-in-residence format offers a unique opportunity to import some of this remarkable talent during this particularly fertile period in the cultural history of Israel,” said Schusterman.
Program to date
The first artists-in-residence, in the fall 2008, were performance artist Anat Pick, film historian Yael Munk, and curator and art historian Gideon Ofrat.
Pick was the first-ever artist-in-residence at The International Dada Archives at the University of Iowa and was co-hosted by the University of Iowa Hillel in Iowa City. Pick is involved with innovative language-oriented performances or "sound texts" and has performed her voice works in contemporary music festivals around the world. Munk, whose residency took place at the Jewish Community Centers of Chicago, is an authority on Israeli film. Ofrat, who became artist-in-residence at the Koffler Centre of the Arts in Toronto, is the author of "100 Years of Art in Israel," which was published in 1998 and is considered the standard text on the subject.
Spring 2009
David Polonsky, the artist-in-residence at the Brown RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) Hillel, developed the aesthetic approach, created the artwork for the animation and supervised the artistic aspects of the award-winning animated feature film Waltz with Bashir. He has also illustrated best-selling children’s books, provided editorial illustration for some of Israel’s leading newspapers and magazines and worked as art director for Israeli television productions. Ronen Sabo will be an artist-in-residence at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco. Sabo, a musician, DJ and music producer, will perform weekly at a San Francisco club, teach workshops, and create artistic collaborative opportunities within the Jewish community and the Bay Area arts and music community-at-large.
Are you interested in serving as an institutional host? Are you an Israeli artist interested in becoming an artist-in-residence?
Please contact:
Marge Goldwater
Consultant
Schusterman Visiting Artist Program
margegoldwater@gmail.com
Goldwater works with an advisory committee in Israel to select a group of artists for the program twice a year.
The Foundation for Jewish Culture provides fiscal sponsorship for the program.
Established in 1987, the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation is dedicated to helping the Jewish people flourish by supporting programs that spread the joy of Jewish living, giving and learning. The Foundation also provides assistance to non-sectarian charitable organizations dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in Oklahoma. More information is available at www.schusterman.org.