Annenberg Foundation Funds Yiddishkayt Multi-Year Jewish Arts, Culture Fellowship

L.A.-based nonprofit Yiddishkayt, announced May 22 a new grant from the Wallis Annenberg and the Annenberg Foundation to underwrite and rename its signature program — the Wallis Annenberg Helix Fellowship.

Yiddishkayt uses Eastern European Jewish arts and history as a model for cultural creativity. Funds from the Annenberg Foundation will be used over four years to support those initiatives.

In a joint statement, representatives from the Wallis Annenberg Foundation said, “Yiddish culture means so much to the heritage of our world, and we are delighted to help Yiddishkayt continue this fellowship.”

Yiddishkayt and the Wallis Annenberg Helix Fellowship are directed by cultural historian Dr. Rob Adler Peckerar. The nonprofit was founded in 1994 by Aaron Paley, currently Yiddishkayt’s Board Chair. Paley is also the co-founder of CicLAvia and president and co-founder of Community Arts Resources.

“Ms. Annenberg and the Annenberg Foundation have provided an extraordinary gift with this grant—the largest in our history,” Yiddishkayt founder and Board Chair Aaron Paley said in a statement. “With these funds, we can expand and deepen our exploration of what Yiddish history and culture can teach us today about living together in a diverse and challenging world.”

In addition, through the Helix Fellowship, students, artists and scholars will immerse themselves in regions that for centuries sustained a vibrant and dynamic multi-ethnic civilization before the genocidal devastation of the twentieth century. Each part of the Helix experience centers on a dynamic community of learning and creating. After 11 months of digital workshops and seminars on language, history, and culture, taught by expert faculty, Helix culminates with Yiddishkayt’s unique month-long arts and culture residency in Eastern Europe.

“We are extremely grateful to Ms. Annenberg for seeing the enduring, significant legacy of Yiddish culture and the unique opportunity the Helix Fellowship provides to today’s cultural workers. We hope her gift inspires others to learn more about our work and consider offering their support,” said Adler Peckerar, Yiddishkayt’s Executive Director.

Helix launched in 2012 and provides a cohort of 15 artists, educators, and scholars from around the world with a series of innovative, immersive experiences over a two- year period. Participants include students, scholars, painters, dancers, illustrators, musicians, photographers, Broadway actors, poets, and activists.