Six Points Fellowship announces its second round of grantees

The Six Points Fellowship, an incubator of innovative Jewish arts projects, has announced its second round of fellows.

The project of Avoda Arts, JDub Records and the Foundation for Jewish Culture — made possible by significant funding from the UJA-Federation of New York – just completed its work with its first cohort, with a number of the artists involved receiving critical acclaim from the mainstream arts world.

The fellowship provides up to $40,000 in grants over two years as well as technical support and mentoring.

These are the new fellows and their projects:

• Judith Berkson – Storm and Stress: A chamber opera about Salomon Sulzer’s life and intrigues within 19th century Viennese society, drawing from classical sources and Judith’s experimental rock band Platz Machen.
• Judd Greenstein – The Yehudim: Shlomo: "Shlomo" is an evening-length exploration of the life of King Solomon, written for Judd’s 14-person band / contemporary music ensemble, The Yehudim.
• Alicia Jo Rabins – A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff: An experimental rock opera about the spiritual implications of the current financial crisis, examining the figure of Bernard Madoff (and the system he represents) through the lens of rabbinic Jewish texts about financial ethics, the meaning of wealth, and the inevitability of cycles.
• Liana Finck – A Bintel Brief: A graphic novel and monthly zine based on the "Bintel Brief" section of The Yiddish Forward, including interactive online elements, workshops, and exhibits at Lower East Side landmarks.
• Hadassa Goldvicht – Rites of Passage: A multi-channel video composition drawing from Hassidic lingual rites of passage ceremonies, and revolving around the embossment of ritual in our bodies and daily gestures.
• Oded Hirsch – There is Nothing New (EnKhadash): An epic video that explores biblical narratives while reconstructing the pioneering spirit of the Zionist movement, using hundreds of kibbutz members to enact and create the video.
• Hannah Bos – The Untitled Blood Play: This new play will translate anti-Semitic medieval perceptions that Jewish men menstruated into a provocative, 20th century thriller.
• Sylvan Oswald – Profanity: Profanity will explore Jewish identity and ethics through the stories of three interwoven characters, each in a different time period, who lose grasp of the difference between right and wrong, to darkly comic effect.
• Netta Yerushalmy – Makom: By examining the notion of makom ("place" in Hebrew, but also one of God’s names), and evoking the ideas of dwelling and displacement, this dance project explores the relation between different locations and the moving body, specifically in New York and Tel Aviv.

Here is the press release:

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THE SIX POINTS FELLOWSHIP FOR EMERGING JEWISH ARTISTS ANNOUNCES ITS 2nd GROUP OF FELLOWS
NINE ARTISTS IN THE FIELDS OF PERFORMING ARTS, VISUAL ARTS AND MUSIC TO RECEIVE FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR TWO YEARS

New York, NY – August 25, 2010 – Six Points is pleased to announce its 2010 New York City cohort, with fellows each being provided with up to $40,000 to develop their projects over a two-year period.   The nine emerging artists selected – born in the United States and Israel -are as diverse in background as they are in their chosen medium. The Fellows are each between the ages of 22-38 and are working on an original project that explores the connection between artistic disciplines and Jewish cultural expression.  Their projects range from a rock opera about Bernie Madoff to a graphic novel exploring the classic advice column from the Yiddish Forward to a theatrical thriller dealing with medieval beliefs about Jewish male menstruation.  

Collectively, the artists represent a snapshot of flourishing Jewish culture in New York City.  We are delighted to introduce Music Fellows: Judith Berkson, Judd Greenstein, and Alicia Jo Rabins; Visual Arts Fellows: Liana Finck, Hadassa Goldvicht, and Oded Hirsch; Performing Arts Fellows: Hannah Bos, Sylvan Oswald, and Netta Yerushalmy.

The Fellowship officially begins in October 2010, with Six Points providing each Fellow with up to $40,000 to develop their projects over a two-year period. Over the course of the two year Fellowship the artists will present their work through exhibitions, concerts, performances and public installations throughout New York City. Six Points will also provide the artists with ongoing professional development workshops, retreats and a variety of Jewish learning opportunities.  This innovative project is a partnership of Avoda Arts, JDub Records and the Foundation for Jewish Culture, and is made possible by significant funding from the UJA-Federation of New York.

The Fellows were selected after an intensive five-month review process and two-stage jury selection that evaluated over 277 applications in the disciplines of Performing Arts, Visual Arts, and Music. Jury panels in each of the three disciplines included distinguished artists, cultural professionals, scholars and critics. 

The 2010 NYC Six Points Fellows follow the incredibly successful pilot cohort, whose projects were critically lauded and presented at venues such as Joe’s Pub, The Black and White Project Space in Williamsburg, and the Kennedy Center, and with fellows receiving a Guggenheim Fellowship, Drama Desk Award nomination, Innovative Theater Award, and Puppet Lab Fellowship, as well as exhibited at major museums including the Israel Museum and the Museum of Art and Design.  Three fellows, Jeremiah Lockwood, Clare Burson and Galeet Dardashti also secured record deals for albums written during the fellowship and will be touring to support those projects this fall.  Please see tour dates and links to additional information below.

"Arts and Culture is a deeply important part of the Jewish community, and Jewish artists and ideas are a crucial part of the New York cultural world," said Rebecca Guber, Director of the Six Points Fellowship.  "Our first group demonstrated that with the financial support, skill-building, and artistic community of the Six Points Fellowship, artists create powerful work of the highest caliber, taking them to new places in their careers and artistic practice.  We look forward to working with our new group of artists who show tremendous talent, originality and vision. We are excited about the conversations about Jewish identity and life that they will spark in New York City and beyond for years to come."

THE SIX POINTS FELLOWSHIP: 2010 ARTIST DESCRIPTIONS

MUSIC

Judith Berkson – Storm and Stress: A chamber opera about Salomon Sulzer’s life and intrigues within 19th century Viennese society, drawing from classical sources and Judith’s experimental rock band Platz Machen.

Judd Greenstein – The Yehudim: Shlomo: "Shlomo" is an evening-length exploration of the life of King Solomon, written for Judd’s 14-person band / contemporary music ensemble, The Yehudim.

Alicia Jo Rabins – A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff: An experimental rock opera about the spiritual implications of the current financial crisis, examining the figure of Bernard Madoff (and the system he represents) through the lens of rabbinic Jewish texts about financial ethics, the meaning of wealth, and the inevitability of cycles.

VISUAL ARTS

Liana Finck – A Bintel Brief: A graphic novel and monthly zine based on the "Bintel Brief" section of The Yiddish Forward, including interactive online elements, workshops, and exhibits at Lower East Side landmarks.

Hadassa Goldvicht – Rites of Passage: A multi-channel video composition drawing from Hassidic lingual rites of passage ceremonies, and revolving around the embossment of ritual in our bodies and daily gestures.

Oded Hirsch – There is Nothing New (EnKhadash): An epic video that explores biblical narratives while reconstructing the pioneering spirit of the Zionist movement, using hundreds of kibbutz members to enact and create the video.

PERFORMING ARTS

Hannah Bos – The Untitled Blood Play: This new play will translate anti-Semitic medieval perceptions that Jewish men menstruated into a provocative, 20th century thriller.

Sylvan Oswald – Profanity: Profanity will explore Jewish identity and ethics through the stories of three interwoven characters, each in a different time period, who lose grasp of the difference between right and wrong, to darkly comic effect.

Netta Yerushalmy – Makom: By examining the notion of makom ("place" in Hebrew, but also one of God’s names), and evoking the ideas of dwelling and displacement, this dance project explores the relation between different locations and the moving body, specifically in New York and Tel Aviv.