LABA: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture

Exciting times with an amazing and inspiring team. LABA Berlin: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture

Checkout 2021 LABA Fellow Sam Sussman’s beautiful, personal and poignant article in Harpers. The title of the piece says it all! https://harpers.org//the-silent-type-on-possibly-being-bo/

In case you missed it last Sunday, watch Letter (His)story today, on Yom Haatzmaut. This is a unique and personal experience, from the past to the present, through the eyes of artist responses, guided by the artistic directors of the Gnuzim project within the treasures of the personal and historical archives inside Beit Ariella. A filmed journey through personal letters by Israeli writers and poets, from the public to the personal on the day of the creation of the state of Is...rael. Catch it until the end of the week on virtual JCC Virtualjcc.com

LABA Berlin: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture application deadline is coming up. Building bridges between continents. share share share if you have artists in Berlin.

SAVE THE DATE, MAY 16-17, to join LABA with Reboot and the Jewish Emergent Network for DAWN: A Cosmic Reunion, our all-night cultural arts festival celebrating the Jewish holiday Shavuot! DAWN will provide something for everyone throughout 12 hours of music, film, comedy, dance, food and teaching across multiple channels. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more details!

(His)story: Yom Haatzmaut Tomorrow, Sunday, April 11 5pm Join us on a unique and personal experience from the past to the present through the eyes of artist responses guided by the artistic directors of the Gnuzim project within the treasures of the personal and historical archives inside Beit Ariella. A filmed journey through personal letters by Israeli writers and poets, from the public to the personal on the day of the creation of the state of Israel.... Experience new work by Victoria Hanna, Merav Shacham to be followed by a live conversation with Zvi Sahar (Ensemble Itim) and Anat Safran (Pacha Kucha Israel) and Ronit Muszkatblit (LABA: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture). Gnuzim is an artistic project where Israeli creators from different disciplines are invited to react to an old letter from the writers archive in Tel Aviv. The letters and the artistic reactions (video arts, songs, performances) are all gathered in the projects website: www.gnuzim.com Letter (Hi)story is a collaboration between Gnuzim and LABA: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture, a program of the 14th street This program is proudly supported by the Israel Engagement Fund: A JCC Association of North America Program Accelerator, made possible by the generosity of several committed donors. https://www.facebook.com/events/2937018649903498/

TONIGHT 5pm in honor of Yom Hashoah LABA Presents: Grandfather Visit A dance testimony piece in the memory of Prof. Kalman Perk by LABA Fellow Doron Perk In July of 1944, in a crowded cattle wagon headed to the death camps, 14-year-old Kalman was chosen by his family to survive by escaping through the narrow window. As his grandchild, Doron chooses to keep his memory alive by using his moving body as a vessel for feelings and sensations he remembers having while being toget...her. https://zoom.us//regi/tJwtfu2tqzMrHNNS5wnfBbBdLHFuLrZ8yNw4

Tomorrow at 5pm in honor of Yom Hashoah LABA Presents: Grandfather Visit By 2021 LABA Fellow Doron Perk Holocaust Survivor, Kalman Perk, escaped a death train and went on to became one of Israel's pioneer vets.... Join us tomorrow to see the work in progress of LABA Fellow Doron Perk, a moving dance piece in honor of his Grandfather, Kalman Perk. https://zoom.us//regi/tJwtfu2tqzMrHNNS5wnfBbBdLHFuLrZ8yNw4

(His)story: Yom Haatzmaut Sunday April 11th 5pm You are invited to join us for a unique journey through personal letters by Israeli writers and poets, from the public to the personal, on the day of the creation of the state of Israel. This will be a moving, inspiring hour to reflect and connect.... Register here https://www.facebook.com/events/2937018649903498/

LABA Presents: Grandfather Visit By LABA 2021 Fellow Doron Perk Friday April 9 5pm to honor Yom Hashoah Doron writes: ... "Grandfather Visit" is a dance solo performance inspired by my many visits to my grandfather in the last few years of his life. The reality of those times is gone and beyond direct explanations, but it does exist in my body. While I dance, I aim to recreate the sensations I remember having while sitting together. Come watch my work in progress showing this Friday at 5pm! https://zoom.us//regi/tJwtfu2tqzMrHNNS5wnfBbBdLHFuLrZ8yNw4

Sunday at 5pm EST - A unique journey through personal letters by Israeli writers and poets, from the public to the personal on the day of the creation of the state of Israel. For more details check out the event and to see some more artist projects go to: https://gnuzim.itimensemble.com

Join us for our next LABA Presents: Grandfather Visit A dance testimony piece in the memory of Prof. Kalman Perk By LABA Fellow Doron Perk Friday, April 9th 5pm Doron writes:... I am making this dance piece in memory of my grandfather but it is really for myself and others. It is for us to remember that people like him, despite all the horror, chose to live, did great things, and were happy. It started as an artistic expression of my many visits to him. Inspired by the stories he told, the things we talked about, and the way we sat and had tea. But now, it feels like it is becoming less about remembering how I visited him, and more about opening up for him to visit me. Reminding me to go slow and steady and always be happy, as he used to say at the end of each visit. My name is Doron. I am so honored and thankful to be a LABA fellow for 2021 with the theme of CHOSE-N. I hope to perform Grandfather Visit to a live audience in the fall or winter of this year in the black box theater of the 14th Street Y. Come join my LABA Presents.Grandfather Visit, showing on Friday, April 9 at 5pm and see my work in progress. Go to LABA website (link in bio) to read the full, moving piece by Doron Perk https://labajournal.com//grandfather-visit-dance-testimony/ link in bio to sign up for this event

Please join us TONIGHT at 7pm for the virtual opening of in the absence of a proper mourning by LABA artist Tal Beery as a part of Dwelling in a Time of Plagues The installation "in the absence of a proper mourning" asks us to confront numerous difficult questions related to our connections to one another and transforms the Jewish Museum of Maryland’s public-facing facade into a site for collective mourning and communal care.... This Passover we come together for a moment of reflection. During the evening we will hear from the team behind the installation, including LABA artist, Tal Beery, on his inspiration and process in creating the piece. This event will offer a unique opportunity to hear the voices of participants of the project.The installation in the absence of a proper mourning asks us to confront numerous difficult questions related to our connections to one another and transforms the Jewish Museum of Maryland’s public-facing facade into a site for collective mourning and communal care. This piece is a part of Dwelling in The Time of Plagues, a Jewish creative response to real-world plagues of our time, generously supported by CANVAS, a Jewish funders network. Read more about the event and get link to register in the article on our site https://labajournal.com//reflections-on-tal-beerys-in-the/

Tomorrow! Virtual Opening Event: in the absence of a proper mourning Thursday, April 1 | 7:00 PM EDT LABA artist Tal Beery... Join us virtually at the Jewish Museum of Maryland for the official opening of "in the absence of a proper mourning" by LABA artist Tal Beery as a part of the exhibition Dwelling in a Time of Plagues. "In the absence of a proper mourning" is an outdoor installation and online space to gather testimonials from Maryland residents who have had to say goodbye or memorialize their loved ones under conditions of social distancing. Audio excerpts from interviews play on loop from speakers hidden at the base of two large 15-foot decorative arches on the facade of the Jewish Museum of Maryland in the historic Jonestown in Baltimore City. The arches themselves will frame large prints of Zoom background images gathered from the recordings. Thus, the arches, and the museum’s facade overall, will offer pixelated portals into the homes of grieving neighbors. "In the absence of a proper mourning" asks us to confront numerous difficult questions related to our connections to one another and transforms the Jewish Museum of Maryland’s public-facing facade into a site for collective mourning and communal care. This event is part of Dwelling in a Time of Plagues a coast-to-coast Jewish artistic response to contemporary plagues made possible by CANVAS, a Jewish funders network. https://68398.blackbaudhosting.com//in-the-absence-of-a-pr

Tomorrow! Artist Talks: Contemporary Plagues Wednesday, March 31 | 7:30 8:15 PM EDT This year’s Jewish Street Art Festival, Contemporary Plagues, is exploring themes of Passover 2021 as part of the multi artist exhibition across the country "Dwelling in the Time of Plagues".... Join us on Wednesday, March 31, 7:30 pm EST, to see the five murals and hear from the artists about their work, and the plague theme behind their projects, including LABA artist Maya Ciarrocci who painted this mural on the 14th street Y in downtown Manhattan "This Place Has a Body" as the plague of Grief and Loss. During this 45-minute event, each artist will share their project and inspiration, with time for questions at the end! Participating artists: LABA artist Maya Ciarrocchi (mural at 14th St Y, NYC), Bareket Kezwer (mural at Miles Nadal JCC, Toronto), Hillel Smith (paired murals at JCC Harlem and Repair the World NYC), and Mike Wirth (mural at Stan Greenspon Center for Peace and Social Justice at Queens University of Charlotte, NC). Jewish Street Art Festival Passover 2021 - Contemporary Plagues is produced by Asylum Arts and Hillel Smith, in collaboration with LABA, and made possible with the generous support of CANVAS. This event is part of Dwelling in a Time of Plagues a coast-to-coast Jewish artistic response to contemporary plagues. Register for this event here: https://asylumarts.wufoo.com/forms/z1t9axg60yeiyq2/

Get inspired this Passover season by downloading the free "Dwelling in a Time of Plague"s booklet with information about the art on display across the country, including a mural in downtown NYC "This Place Has a Body" by LABA artist Maya Ciarrocchi and an installation in Baltimore at the Jewish Museum "In Absence on a Proper Mourning" by LABA artist Tal Beery, as well as original texts by authors commissioned by the Jewish Book Council. bit.ly/dwellingbook