Art Kibbutz hosted 16 open studio events, 8 lectures, 10 artist talks, 30 studio exhibitions, and 3 large festivals that drew a large public audience to our studios on Governors Island. During the annual New York City Poetry Festival, River To River festival, Governors Island Art Fair, Make Music New York, and Figment Festival, Art Kibbutz shared in receiving thousands of visitors to the island through our own programs of live performance and visual art installations. As the only Jewish organization these past 3 years on Governors Island summer activities, Art Kibbutz attracted a unique mix of artists and audience.
Figment Festival
On June 5th for the 3rd time in a row we participated at Figment, a busy day of art making when Governor's Island was transformed into an artsy playland with an art minigolf course, architectural pavilion, interactive sculptures, and over 130 projects. Art Kibbutz presented its first Open Studios of the season. More
Oy, Oy Gevalt Book Release Party
On June 9th with alumni artists Moshiach Oi! at the Town & Village Synagogue.
Tikkun Leil Shavuot Celebration
Group visit on June 11th to view resident artists performing with the Jewish Plays Project for Tikkun Leil Shavuot at 14thStreetY with Shira Kline, Naomi Less, Max Jared, Sarah Sokolic, and Max Jared.
Father's Day Very Special
On June 18th Moshiach Oi! Hassidic punk concert - honoring Punk Island on Governor's Island.
Lev Ari Primaal Art Workshop
Sunday, July 15 and 23
Immersion into Lev Ari's method
New York Poetry Festival
Sunday, July 31
Hillel Broder, Pinny Bullman, and Tamra Plotnik read at 11am. Later that day in our building German-born photographer and writer Julian Voloj explored aspects of identity and heritage in his work. His critically acclaimed graphic novel "Ghetto Brother" (with artist Claudia Ahlering) tells the story of Benjamin Melendez, the founder of the notorious "Ghetto Brothers," a South Bronx gang who initiated an iconic 1971 gang truce. In the aftermath of this peace meeting, a new culture later known as hip hop emerged in the region, while Melendez discovered and reclaimed his Jewish roots. At Art Kibbutz the author is a Bechol Lashon fellow and will be in conversation on July 31st with Melendez about his upbringing in the Bronx, New York's gang culture, conflict resolution and Jewish identity.
Klezmer Aerobics
Sunday, August 7
Daniel Brenner and 80s Klezmer Aerobics. Daniel started performing in 1987 alongside the late comic legend Chris Farley and has been doing theater ever since. In rabbinical school, he created the one-man-show Faster, Rabbi, Drill! Drill!, won an All Out Arts New York playwriting award (2000), and wrote a series of Chassidic folktale plays for Philadelphia’s Theatre Ariel. Since then, he had a play produced by New York’s Vital Theater. Shvitz! The 80s Klezmer Aerobics Experience is a family-friendly interactive dance/storytelling workout where “the 1880s meets the 1980s.”
Tamra Plotnick Interactive Poetry Presentation
On August 7 see Photos here
Creative Queers Picnic
Sunday, August 28
We joined together to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community through dance, art, spoken word, and all other forms of creative expression. Guests were invited to eat, drink, and enjoyed entertainment spread across the sprawling green grounds of Governor’s Island and Art Kibbutz summer studios. We shared food, met and greeted the artists & enjoyed movement and audial work-in-progress performance of interdisciplinary artist Moriah Ella Mason as well as a sneak preview of Pearl Gluck's new film. Judith Margolis presented The Women of the Book project.
On June 5th for the 3rd time in a row we participated at Figment, a busy day of art making when Governor's Island was transformed into an artsy playland with an art minigolf course, architectural pavilion, interactive sculptures, and over 130 projects. Art Kibbutz presented its first Open Studios of the season. More
Oy, Oy Gevalt Book Release Party
On June 9th with alumni artists Moshiach Oi! at the Town & Village Synagogue.
Tikkun Leil Shavuot Celebration
Group visit on June 11th to view resident artists performing with the Jewish Plays Project for Tikkun Leil Shavuot at 14thStreetY with Shira Kline, Naomi Less, Max Jared, Sarah Sokolic, and Max Jared.
Father's Day Very Special
On June 18th Moshiach Oi! Hassidic punk concert - honoring Punk Island on Governor's Island.
Lev Ari Primaal Art Workshop
Sunday, July 15 and 23
Immersion into Lev Ari's method
New York Poetry Festival
Sunday, July 31
Hillel Broder, Pinny Bullman, and Tamra Plotnik read at 11am. Later that day in our building German-born photographer and writer Julian Voloj explored aspects of identity and heritage in his work. His critically acclaimed graphic novel "Ghetto Brother" (with artist Claudia Ahlering) tells the story of Benjamin Melendez, the founder of the notorious "Ghetto Brothers," a South Bronx gang who initiated an iconic 1971 gang truce. In the aftermath of this peace meeting, a new culture later known as hip hop emerged in the region, while Melendez discovered and reclaimed his Jewish roots. At Art Kibbutz the author is a Bechol Lashon fellow and will be in conversation on July 31st with Melendez about his upbringing in the Bronx, New York's gang culture, conflict resolution and Jewish identity.
Klezmer Aerobics
Sunday, August 7
Daniel Brenner and 80s Klezmer Aerobics. Daniel started performing in 1987 alongside the late comic legend Chris Farley and has been doing theater ever since. In rabbinical school, he created the one-man-show Faster, Rabbi, Drill! Drill!, won an All Out Arts New York playwriting award (2000), and wrote a series of Chassidic folktale plays for Philadelphia’s Theatre Ariel. Since then, he had a play produced by New York’s Vital Theater. Shvitz! The 80s Klezmer Aerobics Experience is a family-friendly interactive dance/storytelling workout where “the 1880s meets the 1980s.”
Tamra Plotnick Interactive Poetry Presentation
On August 7 see Photos here
Creative Queers Picnic
Sunday, August 28
We joined together to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community through dance, art, spoken word, and all other forms of creative expression. Guests were invited to eat, drink, and enjoyed entertainment spread across the sprawling green grounds of Governor’s Island and Art Kibbutz summer studios. We shared food, met and greeted the artists & enjoyed movement and audial work-in-progress performance of interdisciplinary artist Moriah Ella Mason as well as a sneak preview of Pearl Gluck's new film. Judith Margolis presented The Women of the Book project.
Exhibition: History, Heritage & the Lower East Side
August 21 - September 18
A collaborative project by Cynthia Beth Rubin and Yona Verwer explored New York City's historic Lower East Side through mixed media paintings incorporating augmented reality. More here.
A collaborative project by Cynthia Beth Rubin and Yona Verwer explored New York City's historic Lower East Side through mixed media paintings incorporating augmented reality. More here.
Lost Sock Project ‘Oneness’
Come an participate in a public sewing project on September 18th to celebrate our diversity and to create connections with Canadian artist Lori Goldberg.
"The Lost Sock project refers to my identity as a Jewish woman, mother as well touching on issues such as diversity and inclusiveness. It consists of a daily ritual: sewing single, lost socks together to create a long tube. Part of my process involves collecting scraps of fabric from the garment industry and lost socks at Laundromats while I am in NYC. The scrap fabric will be used to fill the long sock tube. Visitors of Governors Island will be asked to assist me in connecting the socks."
SaraNoa Mark presented artworks showing her relationship with physicality – what it feels like to step on sand, and how materials decay over time - temporality, and our desire to document experience. She uses carving tools in her drawing process to irritate, scratch, poke, cut, and crawl on paper and fabrics to create sculptural drawings and paper sculptures asking when do works on paper become works of paper?"
Belgian artists Wannes Duponcheel and Nadia Randriamorasata presented Arbeit Machs Frei, a 12 hours long performance art piece with installations.
Come an participate in a public sewing project on September 18th to celebrate our diversity and to create connections with Canadian artist Lori Goldberg.
"The Lost Sock project refers to my identity as a Jewish woman, mother as well touching on issues such as diversity and inclusiveness. It consists of a daily ritual: sewing single, lost socks together to create a long tube. Part of my process involves collecting scraps of fabric from the garment industry and lost socks at Laundromats while I am in NYC. The scrap fabric will be used to fill the long sock tube. Visitors of Governors Island will be asked to assist me in connecting the socks."
SaraNoa Mark presented artworks showing her relationship with physicality – what it feels like to step on sand, and how materials decay over time - temporality, and our desire to document experience. She uses carving tools in her drawing process to irritate, scratch, poke, cut, and crawl on paper and fabrics to create sculptural drawings and paper sculptures asking when do works on paper become works of paper?"
Belgian artists Wannes Duponcheel and Nadia Randriamorasata presented Arbeit Machs Frei, a 12 hours long performance art piece with installations.
