Life

Clever Feminist Art, Courtesy of Drisha

Tanya Fredman?s ?Keva,? oil on canvas, featured in the Drisha?s exhibit. (click to enlarge) Image by Tanya Fredman

By Debra Nussbaum Cohen May 13, 2010

In the mood for clever feminist art that is at once subversive and respectful of Jewish text? Then check out Drisha’s exhibit and afternoon of performances by its Arts Fellows on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Drisha, a center for advanced Torah study for women right near Lincoln Center, has a fantastic program for artists of every stripe — painters and other visual artists, musicians and dramatists, even writers (I was fortunate to be a full-time Drisha Arts Fellow last year). Some are religiously observant, some are not and many fall somewhere on the spectrum.

But all of the Arts Fellows are eager to learn Torah and bring to the endeavor a clever, inquisitive sensibility. The result is work that is smart and challenging even as it demonstrates love for the text and tradition. After learning Torah — the Bible, Talmud and other classical Jewish commentaries — together all year, on Sunday this year’s Arts Fellows will present some of the work it inspired. Being performed and on view will be musical theater, poetry, narrative, photography, painting, paper-cutting, song, art therapy and fiber art.

The dozen Arts Fellows include fiber artist Heather Stoltz, fiction writer Nicole Fix, playwright Bronwen Mullin and musician/storyteller Rachel Ravitz. All will be discussing their art and inspiration, and answering questions.

Debra Nussbaum Cohen is an award-winning journalist and the author of Celebrating Your New Jewish Daughter: Creating Jewish Ways to Welcome Baby Girls into the Covenant. Follow her on Instagram @debranc or email her at [email protected].

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