Rewind. You're driving down Peppertree Lane for the first time. The strangers sitting next to you aren't yet cherished friends. You're working up the courage to step out of your comfort zone and experiment with new forms of creative, Jewish expression. Soon you'll learn that, nestled within, is a beautiful, familiar voice hoping to be shared with the world.
Fast forward. It's been years or decades since you left BCI. You recall what it feels like to sing fully, dance freely, write vulnerably... but it's been a while. Good news: the voice within is still there, still beautiful, and still ready to be shared. Are you ready to listen to it? We're here to help!
Kol Demama: The Voice Within offers BCI alumni an opportunity to reconnect with your creativity.
This summer 2020 initiative includes:
- Zoom-based arts workshops (options below) meeting 4 consecutive Sundays in July
- Building a virtual exhibition of your creative submissions on our website
- An online chagigah where we'll "visit" the exhibition and hear from the artists (that's you all)
Workshop costs: Pay what you can. Don't let finances be a barrier to participation. Your contribution, in any amount you feel able to do, supports our beloved BCI artist-educators during this tough time.
Calendar of Events:
- Sunday, June 28th, 10:00 am Pacific Time: Opening Program- We’ll share more about the project, introduce the submission prompt, and get our creative juices flowing.
- Sundays July 5, 12, 19, 26, (times vary based on workshop)- Arts workshops
- Sunday, August 9- Submission deadline
- Sunday, August 23, 10:00 am Pacific Time: Chagigah- Touring the exhibition and celebrating your creativity
Prompt: Lishmo'ah Kol Shofar... | To Listen to the Sound of the Shofar...
- Creative submissions should, in some way, respond to, build on, explore, or play with this prompt
- For further inspiration and the "origin text" that generated this prompt, click here.
- Interested in more shofar-related texts? Click here.
Workshop Options:
Creative Writing w/Yavni
9:00-10:30 am Pacific Time
Midrash is a tradition of writing that interprets older writing. We will experiment with this form, exploring how the process of reading, posing questions, and proposing answers in writing can be a creative act of self-expression and self-discovery.
Zoom Art w/Michelle
9:00-10:30 am Pacific Time
As video conferencing has become the new 'normal,' we will work together to see what qualities of expression are possible there. Zoom will serve as our artistic modality, our exploration will begin with sound and video and unfold as needed. Expect collaborative energy, experimentation, and a bit of silliness as we build an understanding of what exactly Zoom Art can be.
Music & Songwriting w/Jared
11:00 am-12:30 pm Pacific Time
The symbolic prowess of the shofar paired with its distinct and varied voice can produce an experience capable of resonating with the highest highs and the lowest lows. No other instrument in Jewish history has this innate power of balancing (mind/body/soul, past/present/future, etc.). By returning to this ancient instrument, studying the shofar’s historical and textual roots as well as its unique sound, we will each create a single music composition that reflects one’s personal connection or understanding of this mystical instrument.
Picturing the Sources w/Aki
11:00 am-12:30 pm Pacific Time
What and who is the shofar for? What meaning can this ancient instrument bring to our lives? In this workshop, we will look at the shofar through the lens of our rich source tradition, sharpening our understanding of how Jewish sources function and how they work together to bring meaning. Each participant will then turn to the camera lens to create a visual drasha - personal interpretation - on a piece of text about the shofar. Together, we will create an album of contemporary visions of what it means to hear the call of the shofar.
We are tremendously grateful to Ilana and Mark Meskin and Robin and Leonard Gurin for their generous support of Kol Demama: The Voice Within, our new BCI alumni engagement initiative.