Art Kibbutz Summer Residency  
Governor's Island, New York City
May 26 – September 10, 2015

Art Kibbutz, the international Jewish artist community and residency, hosted 70+ artists at its extraordinary summer of art making, exploration, and networking on Governors Island, New York City. They made art, and friends in studios within a former army officer’s mansion on this beautiful island cooled by ocean breezes in the middle of New York harbor. Governors Island is an oasis with waterfront views, and historic architecture; the busy locus for summer arts festivals; and a vibrant hub for artists, and the public alike. On and off-island programming included artists talks, open studio events, Shabbat gatherings, film showings, and more, co-sponsored by Hazon, LabShul, Romemu, Jewish Art Salon, Association for Jewish Theater, UJA, Schusterman Foundation, Chashama, and Residency Unlimited.

A core theme of the 2015 residency was Shmita, the ‘Year of Release,’ known by its biblical roots as the Sabbatical Year. Jewish groups and artists around the world observed this occasion by working collaboratively to foster create a healthier environment, and a more equitable and just society. This work came to fruition on Governors Island in a Shmita Festival on August 9th.

RESIDENT ARTISTS AT GOVERNOR'S ISLAND
Meet artists in residence at Art Kibbutz and learn about what they've done while in residence. Read more

See more photos here

HERE IS WHAT ART KIBBUTZ OFFERED TO ARTIST AND THE PUBLIC THIS SUMMER

1. Jewish Community Building and Networking Space: Art Kibbutz’s summer location was a hub where ideas were explored and interaction occurred. Participants were invited to several meetings a week with a variety of Jewish teachers, organizational leaders, and NYC cultural producers for individual critiques and presentations. Participants can also enjoyed Shabbat experiences, potluck dinners and personalized learning opportunities. Activities were designed to generate meaningful Jewish connections, and artistic dialogue.


2. Supportive work environment: Art Kibbutz provided 70+ artists with a collaborative environment, time, and studio space to create art that others in the Jewish community (and beyond) will be able to view and learn from. A unique aspect of our residency was the opportunity to grow both a network of peers, curators (optional), presenters, editors, and other Jewish arts professionals working in and around New York City and to share work with new audiences.

3. Exposure:
 Art Kibbutz artists in residence were offered various presentation possibilities. The general public was invited to attend Open Studios to visit your studio and learn more about your process and work. Open Studio events were promoted as part of Art Kibbutz’s calendar of public engagement events. Our location on Governor’s Island, a NYC summer hotspot, offered exposure to 7,000 visitors who visit the island each weekend. Several outstanding summer programs took place on Governor’s Island including Figment Festival, River to River Festival, Governor’s Island Art Fair, New York Poetry Society's Festival - our neighbors include outstanding cultural organizations such as the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Resident artists were announced annually and listed on Art Kibbutz’s website as well as featured on other digital communication channels.

4. Shmita: This summer Art Kibbutz offered the opportunity for residents to revisit their relationship to money and the land in the context of Jewish art. We are partnered with Hazon, the Jewish organization dedicated to sustainability, to provide an opportunity to reinterpret the Biblicallly mandated “Shmita-Year” tradition, of an agricultural sabbatical, when agriculture and commerce were simultaneously re-adjusted to enable a more equitable, just and healthy society, economy and environment. It is an opportunity for rest and release for the Jewish community. Artists who wished to work on other topics were welcome to apply. Read more about Shmita here

SHMITA ARTFEST on August 9th was a BLAST - we partnered with outstanding partner organizations, such as Jewish Art Salon, Hazon, Romemu, Lab/Shul, Jews Agains HydroFracking - also Schusterman Foundation's ROI Network - featuring public art, open studios, lectures, workshops and picnic on Governor's Island. More

PERFORMING IDENTITY SUMMER INTENSIVE WORKSHOP with David Chack at Art Kibbutz - 1 day only on August 10th for theater and/or performance artists looking for a unique and safe incubator to explore their cultural, gender, and spiritual identities in order to access & develop extraordinary performance. More

PARTNERSHIP WITH RESIDENCY UNLIMITED
We are thrilled to report that Art Kibbutz was partnering with Residency Unlimited this summer: we hosted Portugese artist Filipe Cortez at our residency space while RU will send several of their outstanding curators for those Art Kibbutz resident artists who wished to individually engage with them.