Germany update: Mazel tov to three international artists chosen as the first ShUM cities artists in residence!

(JHE) — Mazel tov to the three international artists chosen as the first ShUM Cities Artists in Residence!

They include the Italy-based American musician Avery Gosfield; the Argentinian architect German Morales, and the New York-based visual artist Katya Oicherman.

The ShUM Cities project  linking the important medieval Jewish heritage of the German cities of Worms, Speyer, and Mainz , was recently included on UNESCO’s roster of World Heritage.

In April, the project launched its first-time international artist-in-residence program, supported by the state and the three cities. In a competition open to all artistic fields, it offered up to three grants for the realization of an artistic project dealing with the history of the ShUM communities and their religious, cultural and architectural heritage. Projects needed to present an artistic approach to the ShUM heritage, “taking into account the history and present of Judaism and its views.”

The competition drew 90 applicants from all over the world, an announcement said. Results were announced Tuesday. The winners will be resident in one of the ShUM cities for six weeks, starting in October.

Avery Gosfield, a specialist in early music, will work on a sound installation piece entered on the monumental medieval mikvah in Speyer, whose architectural and tonal structure will inspire the composition,  which “will be based on Jewish text and music traditions, but also contains new compositions and improvisation,” an announcement said. The mikvah will also serve as a performance space.  Gosfield, a native of Philadelphia and graduate of Oberlin College, plays the recorder and other historical instruments. She is the project manager of the Jewish Music and Theater Week in Dresden and part of the ancient  music group  “Ensemble Lucidarium.” 

Architect Germán Morales will be based in Mainz. His project entails a documentation of the Jewish architectural heritage in the three ShUM cities, via drawings, photographs, and archival sources that will result in a digital publication.

Visual artist Katya Oicherman, born in the USSR but now based in New York, plans to make “a series of hand embroidery in Worms that refers to the ‘Minhagbuch,’ a collection of Jewish customs and rites that Juspa Schammes, chronicler of the Worms Jewish community, made in the 17th century.”

During their stay, the ShUM artist fellows will also be expected to allow interested visitors an insight into their work and concepts in a suitable form, e.g., in workshop discussions. Young people and schools will also be invited, and an exchange of ideas with local artists and cultural institutions is also desirable.

Read our April 2021 article about the residency