Artists Membership Program

The 14th Street Y’s Artists Membership Program gathers a group of highly selected artists from various media and cultural backgrounds who share a passion for cultural, spiritual, and professional dialogue, and who will help to cultivate a vital artistic community based on study, artistic exchange, and professional development.

The Membership Program explores the creation and presentation of contemporary art and performance in relationship to a pluralistic vocabulary of Jewish text and experience, contemporary culture, and cross-cultural references. The program functions as a cultural incubator, nested in the heart of the National Laboratory for New Jewish Culture at the 14th Street Y. The Membership Program uses the facilities of the Y for exploration and public display of art work as well as a rich social setting as a network to empower artists' work and vision.

The Membership Program believes in the central role of artists in the wider community and one of its primary missions is to support this role by providing the following tools:

- 10 group sessions, 4 hours long. Sessions include study, critique, dialogue, interdisciplinary exercises, and presentations.
- Curricular and other collaborations with Alma College of Tel Aviv.
- 3 master classes with established artists.
- 2 Sessions of art critique.
- 2 seminars on the fundamentals of art and the marketplace. Topics include portfolio and audience building; marketing; networking; securing space and representation; techniques of creative collaboration; and time management.
- Culminating Art Festival in which new work of LABA artists will be presented. The LABA Art festival will engage the local community and New York art world professionals.

The Faculty for this program includes a group of established working artists from various media that have been deeply engaged in cultivating alternative artistic ventures in New York City and abroad, both teaching as well as presenting their work.

2008-2009 Artist Members:

Avi Fox Rosen- Music

Yael Frank- Art/ Video

David Freeman- Music

Yoav Gal- Opera

Julie Gayer- Dance

Joshua Geldzahler- Music

Jonathan E. Lang- Writing

Amelia Morgan- Visual Art

Ronit Muszkatblit- Theater

Odeya Nini- Music

Ruth Oppenheim- Visual Art