The Jewish Experience Project
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The Jewish Experience Project
The Jewish Experience Project is a book in the works by Sarah Hartman, a current graduate student at Hebrew College in the dual MA program of Arts Education and Jewish Studies, and recipient of the Legacy Heritage Fellowship. After initially setting out to create a modern Jewish issues zine with the collaboration of young Jews in America, Sarah decided to spearhead a project to unite all age groups, genders, ethnic backgrounds, and religions under the umbrella of the Jewish Experience.
When many Jews refer to "The Jewish Experience", it is done in a tongue-in-cheek way; the reason is there is no one Jewish lifestyle or experience, but a gamut of lifestyles of all kinds that identify with being Jewish! From Sephardic Orthodox Jews in Latvia to Atheist Trans Jewish kids in Minnesota, the Jewish Experience is one that stems from a common root in the children of Israel, but has branched into a colorful explosion of wonderful pathways.
The goal of The Jewish Experience Project is to document a number of these lifestyles in vibrant, fun form. Each participant sends a photo (selfies are fine!) and, along with it, a message that describes their Jewish Experience (tm). It can be anything! A childhood story, a poem, a current identity struggle, or a simple two sentence statement. The participant's portrait is then painted using watercolors (no two are entirely alike), and, on the opposing page, their letter/message is handwritten. The end result will be a book of bright and beautiful portraits of people of all kinds, and their Jewish Experiences. It serves as an attempt to quantify one small part of an enormous and beautiful world, and all the variations of its people.
To participate, simply send a clear photo of your face (it can include your body), and your Jewish Experience message to [email redacted]
Progress on the portraits is charted in realtime on various social media outlets:
Instagram: @Zaychiki
Tumblr: KuklaRusskaya
Facebook: Upon request
Here are some common questions:
1. Can I buy the finished original?
So I’m not 100% sure on this yet, since you know, what if I need to scan a different res to print it properly, right? But for SURE you will get a FREE hi-res scan of your portrait+story, and I really want to give everyone a free print, but I may ask people just to cover shipping, since you guys live alllll over the place. :)
2. Where will the book end up?
At this point I do not know! The idea was originally just to self publish so everyone can join in. But there seems to be a lot of interest! I’d be down with trying to get it published perhaps by an indie or Jewish press. If you’re uncomfortable with this prospect, please let me know, and I’ll make certain to give you control over your submission. I don’t want anyone to feel exposed!
3. How long should my message be?
Well, any length, really. Keep in mind that it will be handwritten by me on a matching painted background opposite your portrait. So sometimes a sentence can look good, sometimes an entire big page letter can look good. It’s really more about the content.
4. Okay. What kind of content?
When writing it, think of this question: What defines YOUR Jewish experience? Is it a story? A person? A quote? A problem? I’ve had a range of great responses from people, ranging from poems to funny childhood anecdotes to personal struggles with identity. ALL of these are wonderful and appropriate.
5. How should I identify?
However you like. I’d *like* to put a first name and a geographic region with each portrait, e.g. “Sarah, San Francisco” or “Maimonides, Egypt” etc., but if you’re uncomfortable with that I understand. Keep in mind I’m also happy to use a pseudonym of your choosing. Try not to get TOO out there with it, though. ;-)
6. Are you doing anything with this? Like, will you make money?
At this point, I’m doing it for love. And love of my people. And my community. And that is pretty damn enriching. I absolutely don’t intend to make bank $$$ on this, or else I wouldn’t be doing it!
That said, while I do not expect donations, if you’d like to contribute to the nuts and bolts cost of the project—that is, watercolor brushes, paper, pens, coffee to fuel the artist—please do so! Material costs + time have been piling up.
:-)
7. How the hell do I track all this on your blog? It’s a mess. It’s like Hoarders, but a Tumblr edition.
THANKS MOM.
Actually, from this point forward, I’m tagging all posts related to the book with “jewish experience project”. That way you can find it easily. :-)
Don’t hesitate to shoot me a message or email if you have any more questions. Hope this helps!
The Jewish Experience Project is a book in the works by Sarah Hartman, a current graduate student at Hebrew College in the dual MA program of Arts Education and Jewish Studies, and recipient of the Legacy Heritage Fellowship. After initially setting out to create a modern Jewish issues zine with the collaboration of young Jews in America, Sarah decided to spearhead a project to unite all age groups, genders, ethnic backgrounds, and religions under the umbrella of the Jewish Experience.
When many Jews refer to "The Jewish Experience", it is done in a tongue-in-cheek way; the reason is there is no one Jewish lifestyle or experience, but a gamut of lifestyles of all kinds that identify with being Jewish! From Sephardic Orthodox Jews in Latvia to Atheist Trans Jewish kids in Minnesota, the Jewish Experience is one that stems from a common root in the children of Israel, but has branched into a colorful explosion of wonderful pathways.
The goal of The Jewish Experience Project is to document a number of these lifestyles in vibrant, fun form. Each participant sends a photo (selfies are fine!) and, along with it, a message that describes their Jewish Experience (tm). It can be anything! A childhood story, a poem, a current identity struggle, or a simple two sentence statement. The participant's portrait is then painted using watercolors (no two are entirely alike), and, on the opposing page, their letter/message is handwritten. The end result will be a book of bright and beautiful portraits of people of all kinds, and their Jewish Experiences. It serves as an attempt to quantify one small part of an enormous and beautiful world, and all the variations of its people.
To participate, simply send a clear photo of your face (it can include your body), and your Jewish Experience message to [email redacted]
Progress on the portraits is charted in realtime on various social media outlets:
Instagram: @Zaychiki
Tumblr: KuklaRusskaya
Facebook: Upon request
Here are some common questions:
1. Can I buy the finished original?
So I’m not 100% sure on this yet, since you know, what if I need to scan a different res to print it properly, right? But for SURE you will get a FREE hi-res scan of your portrait+story, and I really want to give everyone a free print, but I may ask people just to cover shipping, since you guys live alllll over the place. :)
2. Where will the book end up?
At this point I do not know! The idea was originally just to self publish so everyone can join in. But there seems to be a lot of interest! I’d be down with trying to get it published perhaps by an indie or Jewish press. If you’re uncomfortable with this prospect, please let me know, and I’ll make certain to give you control over your submission. I don’t want anyone to feel exposed!
3. How long should my message be?
Well, any length, really. Keep in mind that it will be handwritten by me on a matching painted background opposite your portrait. So sometimes a sentence can look good, sometimes an entire big page letter can look good. It’s really more about the content.
4. Okay. What kind of content?
When writing it, think of this question: What defines YOUR Jewish experience? Is it a story? A person? A quote? A problem? I’ve had a range of great responses from people, ranging from poems to funny childhood anecdotes to personal struggles with identity. ALL of these are wonderful and appropriate.
5. How should I identify?
However you like. I’d *like* to put a first name and a geographic region with each portrait, e.g. “Sarah, San Francisco” or “Maimonides, Egypt” etc., but if you’re uncomfortable with that I understand. Keep in mind I’m also happy to use a pseudonym of your choosing. Try not to get TOO out there with it, though. ;-)
6. Are you doing anything with this? Like, will you make money?
At this point, I’m doing it for love. And love of my people. And my community. And that is pretty damn enriching. I absolutely don’t intend to make bank $$$ on this, or else I wouldn’t be doing it!
That said, while I do not expect donations, if you’d like to contribute to the nuts and bolts cost of the project—that is, watercolor brushes, paper, pens, coffee to fuel the artist—please do so! Material costs + time have been piling up.
:-)
7. How the hell do I track all this on your blog? It’s a mess. It’s like Hoarders, but a Tumblr edition.
THANKS MOM.
Actually, from this point forward, I’m tagging all posts related to the book with “jewish experience project”. That way you can find it easily. :-)
Don’t hesitate to shoot me a message or email if you have any more questions. Hope this helps!
Organizer
Sarah Elizabeth Hartman
Organizer
Fremont, CA
