JCC Maccabi ArtsFest® to Expand Again in 2008
More Art Specialties and Increased Teen Participation
New Artists-in-Residence, including International Multi-Media Artist Phillip Ratner, Will Join Veteran ArtsFest Teaching Artists
NEW YORK, NY, May 1, 2008 JCC Maccabi ArtsFest® will open its third season this summer with more JCC delegations bringing more teens to participate in more fine and performing arts than ever before, said ArtsFest Continental Director Arlene Sorkin.
JCC Maccabi ArtsFest connects young people, 13-17, with a shared passion for the arts. Through a dynamic combination of workshops, master classes, performances and exhibitions, community service and social activities, the program cultivates Jewish identity and exposure to Jewish values, culture and heritage.
JCCs across North America may now apply for financial assistance, defraying some of the costs associated with organizing a delegation. That support, Sorkin predicted, will translate into an increased number of teens entering grades 8-12 who attend ArtsFest, which is being hosted by two communities this year: the JCC of Northern Virginia in Fairfax (July 27-August 1); and the Sabes JCC in Minneapolis (August 17-22). Ten arts specialties will be available in Northern Virginia, while the young artists may select from 12 disciplines at the Minneapolis site.
Specialties added this year are: culinary arts, costume design, photography, filmmaking and computer animation (in place of computer graphics). New artists-in-residence are: Sonya Berlovitz (costume design); Bart Schneider (creative writing); Stewart Woodman (culinary arts); Shira Greenberg (dance); Melody Gilbert (filmmaking); Lisa Clair (improv/acting); Peter Avery (musical theater); Lloyd Wolf (photography); Denise Tennen (visual arts); Todd Herzog (vocal music); Kay Christy (computer animation); and Phillip Ratner (visual arts). Ratner, a multi-media artist of international renown whose bronze sculptures stand at the base of the Statue of Liberty, now lives in Safed , Israel . He is in the process of establishing a museum devoted to the stories of the Bible. The Israel Bible Museum is scheduled to open this spring in Beersheva.
Returning artists-in-residence are: Geoffrey Cantor (acting/improv/musical theater); Mattan Klein (jazz/world music); Josh Nelson (rock/pop); Nadine Epstein (creative writing); Elizabeth Johnson (dance); and Beth Schafer (vocal music).
It is anticipated that as many as 500 teens will participate this year, about 50 percent more than last year's total. Stipends will also be available to the Northern Virginia and Sabes JCCs to help with the expense of hosting. ArtsFest has grown each year since its inception in 2006, when 166 teens took part in seven different art specialties at the JCC of Greater Baltimore. Last year, more than 320 youngsters participated in 11 different art specialties in two locations. ArtsFest plans to add a third site in 2009, said Sorkin, another expansion of the program made possible thanks to a generous grant obtained by JCC Association, the New York-based Jewish communal organization for the continental JCC Movement
I'm very excited that in 2008, ArtsFest can offer more creative, talented Jewish teens the opportunity to express themselves and learn from master artists, as well as make a life-long connection to one another and to Jewish community, said Sorkin.
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Community Center Movement, which is comprised of 350 JCC,
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grounds. Additionally, the movement fosters and strengthens
connections between North American Jews and Israel as well
as with world Jewry. JCC Association is also a U.S. government
accredited agency for serving the religious and social needs
of Jewish military personnel, their families, and patients
in VA hospitals through JWB Jewish Chaplains Council.
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