Arts on the Move is a resource for college students and professional artists to produce high-caliber, innovative, cultural experiences, exploring Jewish themes across a variety of New York campuses. Initiated in 2007 by Avoda Arts with funding from UJA-Federation of New York, Arts on the Move is currently administered by the Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life at NYU. The program supports eight participating New York college campuses in two fundamental ways: as a resource center for students and artists, and as a model for campus outreach.
The resources we offer include
• Space, facilities, and venues
• Small grants and funding channeled directly to students and artists
• Advisory and supervisory support
• Relationships with campus faculty and staff
• Advantageous positioning at the Bronfman Center in downtown New York City, a hotbed of arts and culture and
• Relationships with excellent professional artists and arts institutions.
We also recognize and work with the needs and strengths of each unique school and student body.
Our resources, combined with the one-of-a-kind assets and talents of each campus, result in the highest caliber arts and cultural experiences. We are proud to act as a conduit for the exploration of Jewish themes and ideas, and as a vehicle for dialogue on diverse and complex issues, all while furthering the careers of outstanding young artists.
We also hope to reach and enrich the Jewish student populations across schools by establishing a new model for outreach and engagement on the eight college campuses we serve. Arts on the Move seeks to work “from the bottom, up”. The program recognizes the potential and innovation of student ideas, and emphasizes the importance of student buy-in. We look for students to take on leading roles in planning and executing those programs that most interest them. In addition to empowering these students, we significantly increase the impact for students who participate, not just by showing up at events, but by being actively engaged with their peers while developing projects.
Past student-driven initiatives have included everything from film screenings to a regular “coffeehouse” open mic night series to full-scale theatrical productions and gallery exhibitions, and we have supported student work in the mediums of dance, theater, music, poetry, painting, video art, fashion design, photography, film, performance art, musical theatre composition, and more. Whether it’s inviting students to create their own interpretation of a ritual object, or workshops with an outstanding professional Jewish artist, we place a premium on connecting the making to the meaning. Arts on the Move celebrates a diverse and vibrant student community across New York State, using the arts as a means for creative and spiritual self-expression and reflection.
Arts on the Move is a resource for college students and professional artists to produce high-caliber, innovative, cultural experiences, exploring Jewish themes across a variety of New York campuses.
