Work With Your Hands
Yad Arts, a Judaically inspired artists collective from Britain, is doing something positive for the Jewish community in Europe: It’s bringing Jewish artists into non-Jewish spaces.
Their site explains:
“Jewish musicians have always been proud to be but one part of a diverse cultural tapestry. We are striving to continue this tradition by placing modern Jewish culture alongside the myriad influences of a contemporary, multi-cultural society. Our work is designed to demonstrate that contemporary culture is fluid. We speak for the majority of young people growing up in an urban society with a multi-faceted cultural identity. YaD Arts is radical diaspora culture in the present tense: live music, dance, visual and performance art, film production and educational programmes representing the best artists from across ethnic Britain.”
Rather than focusing on Jewish continuity only within Europe’s established Jewish communities, its intention is to ensure Jewish continuity by sharing Jewish creativity with an increasingly multicultural Europe. With Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jewish and non-Jewish artists on its ticket, its suggesting something rarely murmured; that Jewish culture in the Diaspora may depend on our understanding and knowledge of other minorities’ creative traditions.
“YaD Arts programmes diverse music and arts workshops in schools, museums, community centres, summer schemes and faith centres particularly for young people. Our projects include working with musicians and dancers in general state schools and Jewish day schools, and with DJs with new immigrants where workshops embrace the ethnic cultures of the local communities”
oooh.. is this THE eli? good move, mobius.