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Legacy NEWS JEWISH COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF LOS ANGELES
KRUPNICK ENDOWMENT BUILDS CULTURAL BRIDGES THROUGH “VOICES OF LA”
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Voices of LA: The Krupnick Festival of the Arts enabled numerous cross-cultural collaborations of artists throughout the summer from communities across Los Angeles. Pictured at left is a spoken word and musical collaboration exploring cultural identities.
FROM THE DESK OF
MARVIN I. SCHOTLAND
PRESIDENT & CEO, JEWISH COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
Strengthening Our Communities in L.A. and in Israel Our commitment to Israel is eternal. So is our passion for ensuring a vibrant and strong local community. In the last few months, while Israel was under daily rocket attack by its enemies, The Foundation and our family of donors distributed more than $600,000 to the Jewish Federation’s Israel Terror Relief Fund. In addition, our Board approved nearly $1 million in grants (see p. 6) for Israel’s emergency needs and to promote economic self-sufficiency for its citizens. Here at home, the summer-long Voices of LA: The Krupnick Festival of the Arts (see lead story), in a unique yet meaningful way demonstrated that cross-cultural experiences can build bridges and bring people together. Musicians, dancers, painters and poets—a coming together of Jewish artists with those from a variety of ethnicities representative of Los Angeles—showed how the arts can serve as a great unifier.
A quintessential Los Angeles cross-cultural initiative, this past summer’s Voices of LA: The Krupnick Festival of the Arts, is still sending ripples of good vibrations throughout Southern California. The free, summer-long, family-friendly festival—funded by a grant from The Foundation’s Harry and Belle Krupnick Endowment—featured a unique citywide collaborative series that brought Jewish artists together with artmakers representing a broad range of ethnicities and cultures across Los Angeles to create original works of music, dance, spoken word, and visual art. Its goal? To help Angelenos break down barriers, strengthen relationships, and create a culture of greater understanding and acceptance across our city and, at the same time, honor the Krupnick family’s goal of cherishing Judaism and celebrating the arts and community. The series featured eight summer performances in diverse locales such as Venice, East LA, Downtown, Koreatown, and Beverly Hills, along with a culminating all-day celebration at Wilshire Boulevard Temple in mid-September. The mash-up of artists and artistic styles highlighted the incredible diversity and range of voices within our city, including Latin and Israeli musicians, Persian and Korean dancers, African American singers, Japanese visual artists, and Mideast-based musicians. Voices of LA was a kaleidoscope of culture and Continued on page 2
Voices of LA: The Krupnick Festival of the Arts featured artists from diverse communities and cultures across Los Angeles.
Harry and Belle Krupnick, of blessed memory, had a deep love of Jewish life, art and culture—and a desire to provide for its perpetuation Continued on back page
Announcing Nearly $1 Million in Israel Grant Awards www.jewishfoundationla.org
SEE PAGE 6 1-877-ENDOW-NOW