LABA: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture
The LABA theme for 2025 is CHANGE.
Our relationship with change reaches in two oppositional directions – we fear change, loathe change, long to keep things as they are or reverse things to how they used to be, yearning to return to mythical homelands, to gardens, to our childhoods, to the people and communities and places we knew before change happened; and yet, what are our lives if not constant change, or the pursuit of constant change?
Over the past year, our LABA fellows have been exploring the paradoxes of CHANGE within classic Jewish texts in relation to their creative practices. The result? Twelve bold, original works, each interpreting the theme of CHANGE differently.
LABAlive I: Changing Shapes
Thursday, October 9
14Y | 7:00 PM
How does the world around us change our identities? How do we shift the world through art? Join us for an evening of four multimedia works that explore these questions through music, poetry, video, and visual arts.
LABAlive II: Change of Heart
Thursday, November 6
14Y | 7:00 PM
How does change show up in unexpected, profound, and even absurd ways? Join us for a night of four innovative performances spanning music, art, and theater that attempt to answer this thought-provoking question.
LABAlive III: Light Changes
Thursday, December 4
14Y | 7:00 PM
How do we witness change when it unfolds in landscapes, histories, and the lives around us? Join us for an evening of four new works spanning film, art, music, and oral history.
LABA: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture uses classic Jewish texts to inspire the creation of art, dialogue, and study.
Part of LABA is the House of Study, a NYC-based artist fellowship program in which a mix of culture-makers come together to study classic Jewish texts in a non-religious, open-minded setting.
The fellows use the study to inspire work, which is featured in our series of LABAlive events and performances. Every year, LABA focuses its study around a theme. Previous themes include PARADISE, EROS, BLUEPRINT, EAT, MOTHER, TIME, BEAUTY, OTHER, LIFE + DEATH, HUMOR, CHOSEN, BROKEN, TABOO, and NIGHT. This year’s theme is CHANGE.
LABA’s goal is to present Judaism’s rich literary and intellectual tradition in a free and creative setting, so that these stories and ideas spark new art. The creative output from our House of Study pushes the boundaries of what Jewish art can be and what Jewish texts can teach.
In 2014, LABA was named one of the most innovative Jewish organizations in North America by the Slingshot Guide and also received a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts.
Learn More
LABA Global
LABA: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture uses classic Jewish texts to inspire the creation of art, dialogue, and study.
Learn MoreThe 2025 LABA Fellows
Get to know the latest LABA New York fellows, as they explore the theme of CHANGE.
Meet the Fellows
Supporters of 14Y Arts + Ideas + LABA
14Y Arts + Ideas programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
