50 Jewish Objects artist 2019

Deadline: 25/02/2019

Venue: University of Manchester  |  City: Manchester  |  Region: Greater Manchester  |  Country: United Kingdom  |  Laura Mitchell

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As part of major new public engagement initiative of the University of Manchester's Centre for Jewish Studies, we seek to select an artist for a two-month project working to create Manchester-based artwork and public encounters in response to one or more of the historical and unique Jewish artefacts and manuscripts held at Manchester University’s John Rylands Library. The selected artist will liaise with a post-doctoral researcher to select an artefact or manuscript and learn about the chosen object in depth. We are looking for works of creative engagement with an object (or objects) responsive to the historical, cultural, linguistic or artefactual research currently being undertaken about them by scholars and which will be able to draw interest from general audiences at one or more artist’s workshops explaining and displaying the artwork created during the project period. The artefacts and manuscripts are part of the material cultural of Jews living in a variety of Jewish and non-Jewish historical and cultural settings. We welcome ideas for creative responses and artistic interpretations in visual/plastic/musical/digital media from artists of all cultural backgrounds. The payment for the two-months’ period is £6,615 (note: all expenses, costs and taxes are be covered by the artist).

Call for a 50 Jewish Objects artist 2019

As part of major new public engagement initiative of the University of Manchester's Centre for Jewish Studies, we seek to select an artist for a two-month project working to create Manchester-based artwork and public encounters in response to one or more of the historical and unique Jewish artefacts and manuscripts held at Manchester University’s John Rylands Library. The selected artist will liaise with a post-doctoral researcher to select an artefact or manuscript and learn about the chosen object in depth. We are looking for works of creative engagement with an object (or objects) responsive to the historical, cultural, linguistic or artefactual research currently being undertaken about them by scholars and which will be able to draw interest from general audiences at one or more artist’s workshops explaining and displaying the artwork created during the project period. The artefacts and manuscripts are part of the material cultural of Jews living in a variety of Jewish and non-Jewish historical and cultural settings. We welcome ideas for creative responses and artistic interpretations in visual/plastic/musical/digital media from artists of all cultural backgrounds.

Descriptions of sample objects and a provisional list of the “50 Jewish Objects” are available from: http://www.manchesterjewishstudies.org/50-jewish-objects/

We envisage May-June 2019 as the artist’s project period. Specifics are to be agreed when the successful bid is selected. The payment for the two-months’ period is £6,615 (note: all expenses, costs and taxes are be covered by the artist).

Application deadline: Monday 25 February 2019

We expect to contact artists of shortlisted projects for exploratory discussions (which may be by Skype), before selecting the successful project in mid-March. Please be aware that we will only contact applicants if their projects have been shortlisted.

Background:

The Centre for Jewish Studies of the University of Manchester has recently started a project of research and public engagement relating to the artefacts related to Jewish history and culture. Dr Stefania Silvestri is the researcher-educator attached to the project, and Manchester University’s John Rylands Library holds the majority of the artefacts.

The focus of the project are c.50 items held at academic Libraries or Museums in Manchester and some other locations. They include medieval and modern manuscripts and manuscript fragments, scrolls, printed books, letters, artefacts related to everyday religious practices, art objects, images and sound recordings. They come from diverse regions and periods of Jewish history, but testify to some enduring concerns of Jewish culture. Among the artefacts will be a manuscript fragment of Mishneh Torah (a law book) in the hand of its author, the great medieval Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides; prayer books of the early modern Jewish communities of the Yemen; scrolls of the Five Books of Moses (Pentateuch) used in synagogue worship, and Jewish documents written in many languages spoken around the world, but written in the Hebrew alphabet in Jewish communities. Everyday life in medieval and modern Mediterranean or Eastern European Jewish communities will be represented through items such illustrated marriage contracts, amulets (charms in Hebrew or objects to protect against demons), and correspondence and ephemerals will also be included that relate to 20th- century Anglo-Jewish life, British Zionism and Jewish refugees settling in Britain.

Eligibility:

The competition is open to committed artists working in any field of creative arts (fine art, music, photography, theatre, film-making, creative writing, etc.) at any stage of their career. We welcome bids from artists regardless of their gender, ethnicity, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and transgender status.

About the competition:

The payment is for 2 months and the successful applicant will be commissioned to produce a creative piece for public workshop display, to become the property of the Centre for Jewish Studies/Manchester University. The start date of the project period is to be agreed between the artist and the Centre for Jewish Studies, with a preference for May-June 2019. The selected artist will be expected to meet at least 4 times with Dr Stefania Silvestri, who conducts historical and artefactual research on the objects, or Prof. Alex Samely (Co-Director of the Centre for Jewish Studies).

In the project period the artist will be expected to showcase their work at a workshop or similar event open to and involving the public.

Funding:

The total payment for the work is £6,615. We cannot offer an office or workshop space.

The Centre for Jewish Studies will seek to support the artist in finding opportunities for the exhibition and ultimate storage of the final creative outcome after the project ends, but cannot promise specific display opportunities. The funding available remains the same if applied to artistic collaboration, where two or a group of artists work as one practice.

Application documents:

Applicants are asked to submit the following information: 

  • Up-to-date CV (maximum 2 pages)

  • Portfolio (including up to 10 pieces)

  • Proposed dates

  • Project proposal (no more than 1500 words). The proposal should have the following sections (word amounts are maximums):

    • How would you plan to engage with the objects in the collection and research staff? (c.300 words)

    • What creative outcomes would you envisage as a result of the project? (c.300 words)

    • How would you promote engagement with the wider public and different audiences throughout the project? (c.300 words)

    • How would you make use of the public workshop(s) to further interact with audiences and generate interest in the 50 Jewish Objects project? (c.200 words)

    • Why would this opportunity benefit your practice? (c.200 words)

    • What previous experience do you have working with collections, museums or historical artefacts in a research-led manner? (c.200 words)


When designing their project bid, artists are expected to check the sample descriptions on the Centre for Jewish Studies website and the linked images. Dr. Stefania Silvestri will be happy to be contacted for further information. The project object/objects selected for proposals are not restricted to the three sample objects which currently have detailed descriptions on the website, but may relate to any on the list presented online. The object for the final outcome needs to be chosen in consultation with Stefania Silvestri and Alex Samely.

Applications will be reviewed by a panel of fellows of the Centre for Jewish Studies, including at least one of its directors (Dr. Jean-Marc Dreyfus, History; Prof. D. Langton, Religions and Theology; Prof. A. Samely, Religions and Theology). 

 

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