Arts at AJU - Re-Envisioned

In the past decades, AJU has become home for works of art that have been donated by prominent community members, and created substantial exhibition and performance spaces. AJU’s art collection, which was formed, created and nurtured by and for our community, contains over 800 works of art in various media. The collection embodies the changing dynamics of Jewish lives from the nineteenth century to the present. AJU is now expanding this conversation by reaching newer audiences and at the same time, engaging with the art world, in Los Angeles and beyond, to create powerful, unforgettable content-driven experiences.

“The artists, thinkers and scholars that take part in this community today are shaping it as a vibrant arena of cultural exchange,” said Rotem Rozental, Chief Curator of the American Jewish University, Assistant Dean of the Whizin Center for Continuing Education, and Director of the Institute for Jewish Creativity. “I am honored to be able to work closely with emerging artists and community partners to create inspiring, content-driven and thought-provoking programs reflecting our complicated past, and look forward to our exciting future.”

In the fall, AJU will launch the program Chapters in Israeli Art, which will reflect and respond to the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, and the University’s seventieth anniversary.  The community is invited to join on:

• August 24, 2017, AJU opens the exhibition Unbound Recollections: Yair Agmon and Hagar Cygler. The exhibition will include additional public events: a panel with Yair Agmon (September 17, 2017), and workshop for families with Hagar Cygler (October 15, 2017).
• November 19 will mark the launch of the exhibition Launch Sites: Ezra Orion Revisited, in collaboration with the Center for Digital Art, Holon, Israel.

Making our collection and cultural treasures accessible to the wider public, AJU now offers guided tours for individuals, families, schools and academic institutions at the Sondra & Marvin Smalley Sculpture Garden, the University’s extensive collection, and the Galleries. Tours are led by art historians, artists, and art educators. Contact AJU for details and pricing at artsaju.edu.