The Jewish Studio Project, which fosters Jewish learning through artistic expression, has moved into a new home in Berkeley.
The JSP was started in 2014 by the husband-and-wife team of Jeff Kasowitz and Adina Allen to help people connect with Jewish texts using creative tools. Its new home is at 940 Dwight Way. Kasowitz, a musician, and Allen, a rabbi, have led workshops for Jewish professionals in the Bay Area and Los Angeles.
The group, which says it “employs a unique and dynamic methodology that blends the traditional beit midrash (house of Jewish learning) with a multi-modal creative arts studio,” is part of the Upstart accelerator, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that coaches Jewish social entrepreneurs and helps them develop their organizations.
More information is available at jewishstudioproject.org.
Meanwhile, Kasowitz has released a new album of original Jewish music called “Arba’im Shanah” (“40 Years”) that he calls “a collection of interpretations through melody and arrangement and a musical exploration into self, relationship and faith.”
Funds for making the album were provided in part by the Jewish Federation of the East Bay, which gave Kasowitz $5,000 from its Fromer Fund that supports projects in Jewish arts, scholarship or education.