The COJECO BluePrint Fellowship
Photography
60 Reflections
The photography installation 60 Reflections celebrated the 60th year of Israel’s independence through photographs of people’s “reflections” of Israel. L2COLab curated and participated in the exhibition in collaboration with a group of Jewish-Russian New Yorkers. In 60 Reflections , twenty-seven individuals contributed sixty images that together present a photographic panorama of how each sees and […]
Luba Proger has a background and education in fine arts, graphic design, and photography. Upon moving to the United States, Luba continued her studies and earned a degree in photography and graphic design from the Pratt Institute, NYC. Luba has been making photographs for over a decade. In recent years she got involved in curatorial work, where she conceived, and developed a number of arts, photography and theater projects. She currently resides and works in New York City.
Luba Proger and Leonid Khanin have been collaborating since 2004 under the name L2coLab. Their combined multidisciplinary education and experience in fine art, architecture and photography has allowed them to create multidisciplinary art and theater projects, addressing ideas of inner beauty, multiculturalism, and belonging. They are experimenting with immersive environments by use of space, innovative video and audio sampling techniques that stimulate viewers’ perception between themselves and their environment.
Leonid Khanin is an architect and an artist. He has been involved in a variety of art projects utilizing conceptual design and realization. His art projects combine set design, video and photography. Through the Blueprint Fellowship, in partnership with Luba Proger, Leonid created a unique theater experience through a staging of The Purim Spiel Shadow Theater which gave new life to the Jewish tradition of the Purim Spiel. The show was performed on an inflatable sphere and accompanied by new musical arrangements of well-known songs from Russian cartoons.
Luba Proger and Leonid Khanin have been collaborating since 2004 under the name L2coLab.
Their combined multidisciplinary education and experience in fine art, architecture and photography has allowed them to create multidisciplinary art and theater projects, addressing ideas of inner beauty, multiculturalism, and belonging. They are experimenting with immersive environments by use of space, innovative video and audio sampling techniques that stimulate viewers’ perception between themselves and their environment.
Ancestor Blueprint
The Ancestor Blueprint photography project examines the relationship between ancestry, family history and identity. The project consists of a portrait series that juxtaposes contemporary images of modern-day Jewish subjects with Old World pictures of their grandparents, illuminating striking familial resemblances across generations and vivid contrasts shaped by historical, social and cultural discontinuities. The project is […]
Anya Roz is an artist, photographer and designer residing in New York on the Spanish side of Harlem, was born and raised in Moscow in an eclectic family of artists, musicians and photographers, learning to live in the middle of a self generated art scene – visual material being the source of both self exploration and collaboration.
Anya says, “Although I have worked in mediums ranging from oil to video, and had made a living as a graphic designer for the past ten years in New York, my work has focused on photography and painting, and finding a unique visual link between the two mediums. I have also explored lots of antique archival photographs, using their digital replicas in my collage and mixed media work.”
Bukharian Jews of New York
‘Bukharian Jews of New York’ is a photographic exploration of Bukharian Jewish youth in their formative years, when their identities and worldviews take shape. More than two decades after a major wave of immigration from Central Asia, there is now a generation of young Bukharian Jews born in America. Photographer George Itzhak creates evocative portraits […]
George Itzhak is a filmmaker, photographer, and storyteller originally from Tashkent, Uzbekistan. He works in both narrative and documentary, and has several projects in development and production that deal with issues of Russian immigration, Jewish life and culture, and the history and people of the Middle-East. His latest projects include Reading Tehran in Tel-Aviv, a documentary that premiered at the New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival, and Broccoli, a Russian-language short film premiered in the summer of 2014. George began his career in television news with internships at NBC, a stint at the Sochi Olympics, and he currently works at NBC’s Nightly News.
Distanced from the Source
“Distanced From the Source” was a group show of 5 artists Irina Khokhlova, Anya Roz, Polina Barskaya, Viktoriya Sorochinski, and Daniel Veksler. Their work explores the themes of otherness-as-identity through the mediums of photography, painting, video installation, and recorded oral history. “Distanced From the Source” opened on December 17, 2011 at the SET Gallery, in […]
Irina Khokhlova is a filmmaker, video artist, television, and web video producer living and working in New York City. Originally from Moscow, Russia, she moved to NY in 1992 .She received her Master of Arts degree in Filmmaking from The New School University in 2006. She began her career as a TV and film editor, later moving on to producing and directing for television and the web. Her independent work includes documentaries, short narrative films, fashion films and video art. In 2009 the Television program Irina produced received an NY Emmy nomination in the Arts: Program/Special category.
From the Past and In the Now
Creation of an ongoing visual document of Russian-speaking Jewish families, discovering the myriad of ever-changing ways culture, languages, and traditions are embodied in our daily lives. A documentary photo exhibit accompanied by written accounts of multi-generational families of Russian-speaking Jewish Americans, and exploration of generational changes as impacted by the immigration and acculturation, and of […]
IDF Project
From his experience in the Israel Defense Force (IDF) comes Ross’s COJECO BluePrint Fellowship community project designed to raise funds to support the IDF. The Project raised around $40,000 to support the IDF. With the money collected through fundraising events, goods and equipment will be acquired and delivered to Israel to give a tactical advantage to an individual […]
Ross Den was born in Ukraine in a Jewish family of medical professionals. In the mid 90’s his family immigrated to the United States. Ross was accepted to John Jay College of Criminal Justice and in 2000 started a part time job at NYPD working as a Police Cadet. Shortly after September 11, 2001 Ross left to Israel to join the Israel Defense Force (IDF). He served in the IDF for two years and participated in countless counter-terrorism missions in the West Bank and the border of Lebanon, being currently assigned to a battalion of reservists.
Inheritance, an Immersive Installation
“Inheritance” is an interactive exhibit and live performance presented by The Inheritance Project, a storytelling platform that asks, “How much of our identity do we inherit?” Artist Katya Stepanov explores the impact of her own inheritance in an immersive exhibition of photographs and interviews with her family and extended community. “Inheritance” immerses visitors in the […]
JewTrek
“Our Journey Home” Exhibit The show is about, the different paths taken by Jewish Immigrants leaving the former Soviet Union and the places they’ve journeyed in their hopes to find their way home. This project was created in conjunction with Yelizaveta Rudnitsky. Show took place at NYU Bronfman Center Gallery – 7 East 10th Street, New […]
Just In Case / На всякий случай
A photojournalism project focusing on objects that immigrants hold onto. Interviewing Soviet Jewish immigrants about and photographing the possessions they’ve carried with them through their journey and beyond. An exploration why we as humans are so often attached to “things” and are they time machines, reminding us of the past.
My Russian Jewish Family Relic
“My Russian Jewish Family Relic” is a portrait series accompanied by audio interviews, photographed and recorded by Svetlana Didorenko. These images present the stories of family heirlooms of Jewish immigrants from the former USSR living in the US. From household objects to letters and documents, these objects, passed on from generation to generation, reflect personal […]
Svetlana Didorenko was born in Odessa, Ukraine, and emigrated to the US in 1994. Her studies were in molecular biology and focused on neurology research and robotic engineering before attending Columbia Journalism School to start a career in documentary film and journalism. This past year, she has been working on a series of documentary shorts for the Russian Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center, which will open in Moscow in November 2012.
Our Journey Home
“Our Journey Home” was a photography exhibit that tracked various immigration patterns of Jews who left the former Soviet Union. The exhibit was a community event designed to raise awareness for the viewer with little or no knowledge about Jewish immigration from the former Soviet Union. The photographs were taken in collaboration with Felix Lipov […]
Yelizaveta was born in Kiev, Ukraine, in 1982. In 1989, she immigrated to the United States of America with her family. In 2005, after graduating Brooklyn College with dual degrees in Computer Science & Fine Art, she attended New York University’s Masters program in Digital Imaging and Design. Yelizaveta has been working as an Application Support Specialist and Project Manager for several of New York’s largest arts institutions. During which time, she has volunteered for various Jewish agencies in New York and abroad. She’s participated in various non-profit informal education programs with young adults traveling to Israel. Since 2013, she’s taught computer programming at Baruch College (CUNY).
Our Suitcase (Nash Chemodan)
Anna’s BluePrint project is a photo essay entitled Our Suitcase (Nash Chemodan). This body of work shows “portraits” of items that immigrants took with them when leaving the Soviet Union for a life in the United States. Because of censorship and the restriction on communication, many had no idea what to take and what to leave behind. […]
Anna Loshkin was born in Odessa, Ukraine, and immigrated with her family to Boston in 1988. She worked in the internet field for ten years before pursuing photography and journalism. Her work has been featured in BBC Russia, VICE, Grazia, Tablet Mag and others. Her photographs have been exhibited in the US and UK, as well at the on-line International Museum of Women. Anna’s project on influential Afghan women will be featured in the Other One Hundred, an upcoming book and travelling exhibition, and received an honorable mention in the 2014 International Photography Awards. You can see more of her work at www.annaloshkin.com.
Re: Turn
Photographic Narratives of Russian-speaking Orthodox Jews
Anna Chana Demidova was born in Belarus and lived in Bulgaria, Netherlands, and Germany before moving to New York in 2010. She studied Business and Political Science and is currently studying Economics at Columbia University. Photography was something that she has always been curious about, and since receiving her first camera, it has become Anna’s true passion.
Speak Memory
Speak Memory is an exhibition of four COJECO Blueprint Fellowship: Katya Meykson, Irina Sheynfeld, Tanya Levina and Yuliya Levit. This show explores Russian-Jewish immigrant identity, artists ties to the historic past, and the connection to our roots that we feel in everyday lives. February 28, 2013 at Columbia / Barnard Kraft Center Auditorium Show opening included […]
Originally from Minsk, Belarus, Tanya Levina is a Brooklyn based painter. Her artistic inclinations showed at a very young age as she started compulsively drawing on every surface in sight including books, walls and papers around the house. As she grew older, Tanya gave up defacing household property and started using drawing and painting as an outlet for documenting surroundings and expressing affection for things she liked, especially horses. To this day horses remain a dominant theme in her work. Tanya often sets her subjects in extremely colorful, exaggerated and slightly surrealistic settings, drawing inspiration from her surroundings, travel experiences, as well as works by Dali, Klimt and Monet. Her artwork can be found at www.tanyalevina.com
Aside from painting, Tanya studied Economics at Brandeis University, and after a couple of stints at various strategy consulting firms landed as a Research Manager at Scholastic.
Yuliya was born in Moscow in 1979 and graduated from RGGU with degree in IT in 2001. She moved to New York, along with all my family: my parents, my 84 year old grandfather, two of my 83 year old grandmothers, our dog, our cat, a violin, a guitar, my father’s bike and sewing machine that same year. Ever since she can remember she was interested in the link between the photo and a story, but she got serious about photography only 9 years ago. I currently reside in New York and work as a professional photographer. See her work at www.ylevit.com
Nadya Meykson and Victoria Schwartzman plan to make a recoding of contemporary Russian-Jewish emigre composers. The recording will include works that are rarely heard and which they feel deserve to be introduced to a wider audience. The recording will be followed by two public concerts.
Nadya Meykson moved to the US in 1996 from Moscow. She holds a Master’s Degree in Music from the Eastman School of Music. She has performed in venues such as Weill Recital Hall at the Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Millennium Stage at The Kennedy Center, The Bohemian National Hall, The State Kremlin Palace Concert Hall, All-Union House of Composers in Moscow and The Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture in Moscow.
Nadya has appeared as soloist with OSSIA Orchestra, Shoals Symphony Orchestra, Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra and Alabama Youth Symphony Orchestra. She has won various prizes, including Concert Festival, Noel Levine, First Prize at Ray Dunmyer Youth Concerto Competition, and First Prize at Shoals Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition.
Irina Sheynfeld is an artist, illustrator and designer born in Odessa, Ukraine, where she studied painting at the Odessa College of Art. Upon arriving to New York, Irina earned her BFA from Parsons School of Design and MFA from School of Visual Arts. She worked as a designer and illustrator for The Wall Street Journal, Time Warner and Oxygen Media. For several years Irina illustrated a weekly column for Editor and Publisher magazine. Irina just had her first solo show at Tagine Gallery in NYC and her work could be currently seen at Amsterdam Art Gallery and at Iridium Jazz Club. She was one of the winners of the Printmaking Completion and recipient of the New Media Award for the best web design.
The Challenges We Face
“Our Journey Home” was a photography exhibit that tracked various immigration patterns of Jews who left the former Soviet Union. The exhibit was a community event designed to raise awareness for the viewer with little or no knowledge about Jewish immigration from the former Soviet Union. The photographs were taken in collaboration with Felix Lipov […]
Yelizaveta was born in Kiev, Ukraine, in 1982. In 1989, she immigrated to the United States of America with her family. In 2005, after graduating Brooklyn College with dual degrees in Computer Science & Fine Art, she attended New York University’s Masters program in Digital Imaging and Design. Yelizaveta has been working as an Application Support Specialist and Project Manager for several of New York’s largest arts institutions. During which time, she has volunteered for various Jewish agencies in New York and abroad. She’s participated in various non-profit informal education programs with young adults traveling to Israel. Since 2013, she’s taught computer programming at Baruch College (CUNY).
