2008 Grant Awards (artist, title, medium, venue) For biographical notes click here Performing arts: new works for the stage Michèle Albo and Raymond Yana (France) Vis au long de la vie, Alya Theatre A theatrical show with marionettes and live music, Vis au long de la vie is an adaptation of a novel by Violette Jacquet, which has the Holocaust as its central theme. Yael Flexer (London, UK) Doing, Done and Undone Yael Flexer’s new project is a dance triptych considering the ways in which we are inevitably tied to one another. Blending fast-paced intricate choreography and an informal sense of humour, Doing, Done & Undone questions what we do to others, what is done to us and how this makes us come undone. Echoing events in Israel and Lebanon the work locates the thinking about these events in the body and in the sound score. Graeme Messer (London, UK) Laughing in the Dark A play exploring the life of a Jewish ventriloquist who was imprisoned in a concentration camp and survived the Holocaust. Oren Shafir (Bagsværd, Denmark) Romeo and Juliet: The Sequel A musical comedy set in a contemporary city somewhere in Europe, with a theme touching on a subject that is all too relevant today: the lack of dialogue between Jews and Muslims. Roger, a middle-aged Jew and Jaida, a young Muslim woman fall in love, do a few song and dance numbers, and poke gentle fun at everything. Michelene Wandor (London, UK) Mandating Loyalties Michelene Wandor’s new work is to form part of this year’s programmes commemorating the 60^th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel. The play will draw on the friendship between two very different men, Alter Levine and Khalil al-Sakakini in the early years of the 20^th century in Palestine. The two shared a love of American culture and a passionate belief in a society where there was co-operation between Jews, Muslims and Christians. Performing arts: music composition Ygal Banai (Germany) Nessiah, Würzburg Academy Nessiah is a musical journey which narrates the diverse realities of the European Diaspora – taking his audience to the shtetls and towns of Eastern Europe. It will be performed and recorded at the Würzburg Academy. Frédérique Berni (France) Klezmopolitan This new album reflects the vitality of contemporary Jewish music while creating a bridge between the past and the future. Marc Kibrick Bernstein (Varde, Denmark) Jewish PhonicPhoneme A visually oriented music and sound performance which will place the audience in the centre of a “multi-sensory theatre”. It is characterized by an intimate interplay between acoustic and electric instruments, klezmer, classical chamber music and Jewish jazz, song and the spoken word, as well as live video and sound design. Mickaël Charry (Toulouse, France) and the Anakronic Electro Orchestra, Themes Yiddish Covering a whole range of contemporary styles (electronic, rock, expermimental, gypsy jazz), this CD is a further exploration of the traditional Jewish repertoire from Eastern Europe. Amira Garine (Firenze, Italy) Belcanto Ebraico A work for soloists and an instrumental ensemble inspired by the Jewish experience from chazanut to the folk chants of different traditions from Georgia, Bukhara, Italy, the Balkans and Morocco. Mark Glanville (London, UK) A Yiddishe Winterreise A programme of songs composed by Alexander Knapp. It aims to reflect the emotional and physical journey undertaken by the hero of Schubert's original cycle Die Winterreise. The specific context is the Holocaust, the performer a badkhen (wedding singer) who reflects on the destruction of his home and family, and the consolation of his religion as he escapes through a winter landscape. Yuriy Gurzhy (Trikont, Germany) and Lemez Lovas (London, UK) Shtetl Superstars A new project of Jewish underground music led by two young musicians, the album includes titles of the most interesting Jewish groups. Sylvie Sivann (Capharnaoum, France) Du côté de chez Sivann This new recording is a compilation of Jewish songs in Yiddish, Hebrew and Judeo-Spanish, showcasing little-known material. The collection aims to re-locate this music in a contemporary context with arrangements by Christian Mesmin and Pierre Wekstein. Visual arts: exhibitions of new work Katy Beinart (Oxford, UK) The Gift: Origination Katy Beinart’s work will explore how one’s own identity and sense of place is created, in comparison with (and informed by) previous generations. Her goal is to create a 'map', or series of drawings, which explore the journeys made by her great-grandparents and grandparents, combining cartographies and classifications with narratives of desire and loss of identity. Michael Bensman (Germany) Personal record n° 3, about the Fisherman and a Fish, Gallery Art Digital A study of the textual and symbolic significance of the fish in the Torah and in the New Testament. Ronald George Golz (Germany) Erwählung (God’s Choice), Zentrum Judaicum, Neue Synagogue, Berlin A new project with Group Meshulash, Erwählung will use a variety of media: painting, photography, collages, sculptures and installation. Vera Gutnika, Vladimir Kara, Gueorgui Pinkhassov, Julia Nitsberg (Jerusalem, New York, Paris) Celestial Jerusalem, terrestrial Jerusalem, visions of an eternal esthetics, Dima, Galerie d’Art, France; Pavillion Nicolas, Carre Beaudoin, Paris; Galleria FYR, Florence A group exhibition presenting the work of four Russian artists. Based in New York, Paris and Jerusalem, together they develop their aesthetic vision around a single source of inspiration. Figurative painting for Vera Gutnika and Vladimir Kara, photography for Gueorgui Pinkhassov, sculpture and installation for Julia Nitsberg, each artist bases its work on the history of Jerusalem and its spiritual dimension. Gergely Laszlo (Budapest, Hungary) Kibbutz Yad Hanna In his photo project, Gergely Laszlo portrays the history of a small and dwindling kibbutz in Israel founded by members of Hashomer Hatzair, many of whom were Hungarian. The project hopes to prevent the hitherto unexamined history of Yad Hanna from falling into oblivion. Why a European Association for Jewish Culture?/Aims/The Board, Staff and Associated Organizations/Contact Us/Press Releases/2002 Grant Awards /2003 Grant Awards /2004 Grant Awards /2005 Grant Awards / 2006 Grant Awards