After two years of COVID-19 and its variants — Delta and most recently Omicron — we are decidedly feeling the heaviness of this new year. While this mix of fear, ennui, anger, and restlessness leaves us broken, it also leads us to create, to yearn for community, and to heal.
We are thrilled to announce the newest cohort of LABA Fellows. They are writers and artists, filmmakers and musicians. These culture makers are the LABA BROKEN fellows. They will kick off a year of learning, creation and community building on January 24, but were treated to their first LABA Global session on January 16 when Ruby Namdar, LABA Senior Scholar, taught about Exodus 31, in which Moses breaks the tablets.
What is brokenness doing at this defining moment in our collective story and how does it play into our collective consciousness? What does it tell us about the inevitably of brokenness in our lives? And how will we interpret it in 2022?
As we celebrate the new fellows, their varied mediums, styles and backgrounds, and embark on a journey of BROKENNESS that both meets the times and draws lessons from the past, we look to our ancient sages and esteemed artists to guide us.
“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”
-Anton Chekhov
Chanan Ben Simon
Daniel Friedman
Nava Gidanian-Kaganz
Melissa Hacker
Andrew Ingall
Dena Kopolovich
Elie Lichtschein
Renana Neuman
Lili Rosen
Rachel Sullivan
Layla Zami Zuckerman
Take a look at the Fellows’ work and their upcoming projects and join us in plumbing the depths of our imaginations and fears as we deeply engage with our sages from the past and utilize their wisdom to meet this moment together.
“Our journey is just beginning.”
–Moses
–Laura Beatrix Newmark, Director of LABA NY