Program Participants
Brooklyn-born artist, curator, and author Joel Silverstein paints his life’s journey as a universal tale of redemption and transformation, informed by the Exodus story in the Hebrew Bible. The rides and attractions of Brighton Beach and Coney Island shape his internal world, where family, friends, and famous cultural figures all serve as actors in the story. Infused with pop cultural and historical imagery, the 64 vivid works in this book will appeal to all those who love the visual arts, movies, comics, and epic narratives, and who have felt transition, loss, dislocation, or liberation in their lives. Brighton Beach Bible is published by the Jewish Art Salon, a global network of visual artists, historians, and writers dedicated to exploring ideas in Jewish Art, culture, and philosophy, with support to the artist by the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture.
Julian Voloj is a New York-based writer whose work has been published in the New York Times, Rolling Stone, the Washington Post, and many other national and international publications. His graphic novels include Ghetto Brother: Warrior to Peacemaker, Black and White: The Rise and Fall of Bobby Fisher, The Joe Shuster Story: The Artist Behind Superman, and his current book is called (Not) a New York Love Story.
Dutch-born Yona Verwer is a multidisciplinary visual artist and curator, living and working in New York City. Her creative practice explores heritage, immigration, ecology, and kabbalah. She is a founder of the Jewish Art Salon.
Rabbi Jeni Friedman is CEO and Executive Vice President of the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, which promotes Jewish peoplehood by supporting and developing the next generation of scholars and leaders in Jewish communities around the world.
Gordon Haber edits the CANVAS Compendium, CANVAS’s newsletter on Jewish arts and culture, the business of art, and philanthropic strategy. His reporting and commentary on religion, culture, and the arts have appeared in The Forward, Jewish Chronicle, Healthline, the Hollywood Reporter, Salon, Tablet, Religion Dispatches, and Religion and Politics. His short fiction has appeared in a number of literary journals and as three best-selling Kindle Singles.
Jean Bloch Rosensaft is Director of the Dr. Bernard Heller Museum, which showcases the creativity of contemporary artists exploring Jewish identity, values, and history in exhibitions circulated throughout North America.
