Curation

Born in The Hague, The Netherlands. Lives and works in New York.

Founder and Director, Jewish Art Salon.

CURATORIAL PRACTICE

Founding curatorial vision and long-term programming for a cultural platform launched from zero. Multidisciplinary programs spanning contemporary art, design, new media, film, ecology, and culture. Programs include talks, critiques, workshops, screenings, panels, studio visits, and community events. International artist logistics, multi-venue touring, contracts, budgets, grants, vendors, and volunteer teams. Artist-in-residence design and consultation.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2026 Curator, Akeida Alone,Where is the Lamb?, solo exhibition by Richard McBee, Jerusalem Biennale, Jerusalem, Israel.

2026 Curator, Where is the Lamb?, exhibition by Richard McBee, HUC Heller Museum, New York, USA.

2026 Co-curator, Translations: The 613, Current Arts Gallery, New York, USA.

2026 Co-producer, Fluid Futures: Melting Lands, Hyams Museum, Roslyn Heights, NY, USA.

2026 Co-producer, Fluid Futures, The Interchurch Center, New York, USA.

2025 Co-curator, Fallout: October 7 and the New Antisemitism, Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

2024 Co-curator, Artists on Antisemitism II, Hyams Museum, Roslyn Heights, NY, USA.

2024 Co-curator, Artists on Antisemitism, 81 Leonard Gallery, New York, USA.

2024 Producer, ACTIVATE: A New York Women’s Perspective, Jewish Art Salon at the Jerusalem Biennale, Jerusalem, Israel.

2023 Co-producer, Jewish Art Salon exhibition, Jerusalem Biennale in New York, HUC Heller Museum, New York, USA.

2023 Administrative Curator, Genesis: The Beginning of Creativity, The Interchurch Center, The Jewish Theological Seminary, and Riverside Church, New York, USA.

2022–23 Co-curator, Together Again, Stanton Street Shul, New York, USA.

2022–23 Co-curator, Contemporary Jewish Artists Encounter the Samaritans, part of Samaritans: A Biblical People, YU Museum, New York, USA, and Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC, USA.

2019 Co-producer, JADA Art Fair, Miami Beach, FL, USA. Curated by Jonatas Chimen.

2019 Curatorial advisor and co-producer, Spinoza: Marrano of Reason, Amstelkerk and Plein van Siena, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Curated by Janet Heit and Billha Zussman, with curatorial assistance by Goldie Gross.

2018 Curatorial advisor and co-producer, On the Consequences of Hate Speech, Manny Cantor Center, New York, USA. Curated by Rachel Kanter; co-curated by Robin Atlas and Nancy Current.

2018 Co-producer, Through Compassionate Eyes: The Ethical Treatment of Animals, Charter Oak Cultural Center, Hartford, CT, USA. Curated by Julie Seidman, Joel Silverstein, and Aimee Rubensteen.

2018 Co-curator and co-producer, The Invisible Jew, Detour Gallery, Red Bank, NJ, USA. Curated by Goldie Gross for the Jewish Art Salon.

2018 Curatorial advisor and co-producer, POW!!! Jewish Comic Art and Influence, Brooklyn Jewish Art Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, USA. Curators Joel Silverstein, Joshua Stulman, and Goldie Gross. In conjunction with the 2nd Jewish Comic Con.

2018 Co-producer, Jerusalem Between Heaven and Earth, Derfner Judaica Museum, Riverdale, NY, USA. Curated by Ori Z. Soltes; organized by Susan Chevlowe.

2017 Co-producer, Dimensions of Spirituality: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot, UJA-NY Gallery, New York, USA.

2017 Co-producer, Jerusalem Between Heaven and Earth, Jerusalem Biennale for Contemporary Jewish Art, Jerusalem, Israel. Curated by Ori Z. Soltes for the Jewish Art Salon.

2017 Curatorial advisor, Natural Instincts, Charter Oak Cultural Center, Hartford, CT, USA. Curated by Goldie Gross for the Jewish Art Salon.

2016 Curatorial advisor, JOMIX: Jewish Comics; Art & Derivation, Sid Jacobson JCC, East Hills, NY, USA. Curators Joel Silverstein, Aimee Rubensteen, and Richard McBee.

2016 Co-producer, Dimensions of Spirituality: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot, USC Hillel Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Curators Richard McBee and Aimee Rubensteen.

2016 Co-producer, Letters from My Grandparents: The Art of Ruth Schreiber, Anne Frank Center USA, New York, USA.

2015 Co-producer, New York / New Work: Contemporary Jewish Art from NYC, Jerusalem Biennale, Jerusalem, Israel. Curated by Dvora Liss and David Sperber for the Jewish Art Salon.

2015 Co-curator, The Jew as the Other, Yiddish New York Festival, Clemente Gallery, New York, USA. With Tine Kindermann and Deborah Ugoretz.

2015 Assistant curator, Rooted: The Ecological Duality of Nature and Jewish Identity, Manny Cantor Center, New York, USA. Curated by Aimee Rubensteen; organized by the AK Residency Program.

2015 Curatorial advisor, JOMIX: Jewish Comics; Art & Derivation, Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Curators Joel Silverstein, Aimee Rubensteen, and Richard McBee.

2015 Curatorial advisor, JOMIX: Jewish Comics; Art & Derivation, UJA Federation, New York, USA. Curators Joel Silverstein and Richard McBee.

2015 Co-curator, All Together Different, Manny Cantor Center, New York, USA. Curated by Linda Griggs. A survey of working artists on the Lower East Side, opened by NYC DCLA Chair Tom Finkelpearl.

2014 Co-curator, Lashon Hara: On the Consequences of Hate Speech, art by Robin Atlas, Anne Frank Center USA, New York, USA. With Rebecca Faulkner.

2014 Curator, The Jewish Waltz with Planet Earth, Art Kibbutz, Governors Island, NY, USA.

2014 Co-curator, Faith & Form: Addressing Intolerance and Antisemitism, Anne Frank Center USA, New York, USA.

2013 Curator, Warrior / Peacemaker, graphic novel by Julian Voloj, drawings by Claudia Ahlering, Columbia/Barnard Kraft Center, New York, USA. Co-sponsored by the Jewish Art Salon and Be’chol Lashon.

2013 Curator, Into the Void, works by Cynthia Beth Rubin, Columbia/Barnard Kraft Center, New York, USA.

2012 Curator, Fractured Epics: Historical Paintings and Imaginary Portraits by Joel Silverstein, Columbia/Barnard Kraft Center, New York, USA.

2012 Co-curator, Text and Context, Columbia/Barnard Kraft Center, New York, USA.

2012 Co-producer, Silent Witnesses: Migration Stories through Synagogues Transformed, Rebuilt, or Left Behind, Holocaust Memorial Center, Farmington Hills, MI, USA.

2011 Co-curator, Terror: American and Israeli Artists Respond, Industry City Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, USA.

2011 Co-curator, Jewish Art Salon’s 9-11, Educational Alliance, New York, USA.

2011 Co-curator, Shma!, online exhibition with the Aleph Institute, RAVSAK, Jewish Art Salon, and Jewish Art Now.

2011 Co-curator, Global / Local, online exhibition with the Aleph Institute, Jewish Art Salon, and Jewish Art Now.

2011 Curator, Mima’amakim, Community Synagogue, New York, USA.

2010 Curatorial advisor, Generation D: Identity, Flomenhaft Gallery, New York, USA.

2010 Curatorial advisor, The Dura Europos Project, Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

2010 Curatorial advisor, Seduced by the Sacred, Charter Oak Cultural Center and the JCC, Hartford, CT, USA.

2009 Curatorial advisor, Tzelem: Likeness and Presence in Jewish Art, Stanton Street Synagogue, New York, USA.

SELECTED PROGRAMS AND CONVERSATIONS

2026 Producer, in-person studio visits, New York, USA.

2022–23 Co-producer, JAS Online Art Critiques.

2022–23 Curatorial contributor, Kolture by JArts.

2020–present Program advisor, Open Studios, Jewish Art Salon (virtual). Curators Judith Joseph and Dorit Jordan Dotan. Program assistants Cheselyn Amato and Chana Wiesenthal Elias.

2020 Curator, virtual art presentations, Jewish Art Salon: Chutzpah as Art Practice, with Shoshana Gugenheim; Jews Outside the Margins, with Amy Rubin-Flett and Ezra Rose; I Am. An Immigrant, with Dorit Jordan Dotan; The 2020 Global Quarantine and the Rise of Digi-Romanticism, with Jonatas Chimen and Dana Blickensderfer; From There to Here / Visualizing Shabbat, with Ellen Holtzblatt, Ruth Simon McRae, and Laurie Wohl; Between Two Worlds: Shir Hashirim and the Dybbuk, and Prayers of a Kohenet; Susan May Tell, photographs, and Debra Olin, fiber art; Art in the Time of Corona, with Lenore Mizrachi-Cohen; Rethinking Judaica with New Media, with Hillel Smith; Not in Heaven: Artists as Partners in Creation, with Judith Cardozo and Dr. Susan Nashman Fraiman; A Tradition of Embellishment: Exploring the Aesthetics of Jewish Arts, with Cynthia Beth Rubin and Chana Wiesenthal Elias; Modern Jewish Narratives, with Archie Rand, Richard McBee, and Joel Silverstein.

2018 Co-organizer, POW!!! The Confluence of Jewish Identity, Comics and Fine Art, panel in conjunction with POW!!! Jewish Comic Art and Influence. Panelists Archie Rand, Julian Voloj, Simcha Weinstein, Joel Silverstein, Joshua Stulman, and Goldie Gross. Brooklyn, NY, USA.

2017 Co-producer, Blue Like Me, reception and screening of Siona Benjamin’s documentary, ACA Galleries, New York, USA.

2014 Co-producer, Judaism, Comic Books and Their Creators, workshop by Joel Silverstein, Hadas Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, USA. With YCROP.

2014 Co-producer, Documenting Diaspora, lecture by Julian Voloj, Anne Frank Center USA, New York, USA. With RJeneration.

2014 Co-producer, Recreating the Golem: From Prague to The Simpsons, discussion with Mark Podwal and Thane Rosenbaum, Anne Frank Center USA, New York, USA.

2014 Co-producer, Exploring Identity, mezuzah-making workshop with Tobi Kahn, Long Island City, NY, USA. With RJeneration.

2013 Producer, screening of the documentary Punk Jews, Central Booking, New York, USA. With Saul Sudin and Evan Kleinman.

2013 Producer, Finding Home, workshop by Siona Benjamin, Tribeca Synagogue for the Arts, New York, USA. With RJeneration.

2013 Producer, Still Small Voice: Jewish Heritage in Contemporary Art, panel with Judith Joseph, Alison Kruvant, and Isaac Peterson; moderator Buzz Slutzky. Columbia/Barnard Kraft Center, New York, USA.

2013 Producer, Imagery After Abstraction: Filling the Void, panel with Helene Aylon, Elisa Decker, Bruria Finkel, Cynthia Beth Rubin, and others. Columbia/Barnard Kraft Center, New York, USA.

2012 Producer, International Jewish Artists Session, Skirball Center for Adult Jewish Learning, New York, USA.

2012 Producer, Jewish Artists Session, YU Museum, New York, USA.

2012 Producer, Graphic Details Session, YU Museum, New York, USA.

2012 Producer, Talmud Synesthesia, art, jazz, and poetry, Center for Jewish Arts & Literacy, New York, USA.

2011 Producer, art session with Tobi Kahn, Rubinstein Gallery, New York, USA.

2011 Producer, Jewish Artists Session, JCC Manhattan, New York, USA.

2011 Producer, artists session, HUC-JIR Museum, New York, USA.

JURYING

2016 Juror , Mark Podwal Prize, Elie Wiesel Foudation

2026 Juror, Artists’ Beit Midrash, RAVSAK, New York, USA.

2012 Juror, Voices / Visions, children’s poster contest, Grinspoon Foundation, New York, USA.

2012 Juror, Making Connections, Beth Torah, Brooklyn, NY, USA. With Tobi Kahn.

SELECTED PRESS

Coverage of curated and produced projects includes The Forward, Haaretz, The Times of Israel, The New York Jewish Week, The Jewish Standard, The Jewish Press, Philadelphia Jewish Exponent, Bet Magazine Mosaico, JOFA, Bedford + Bowery, Shtetl Magazine, and the New York Observer.

SELECTED TESTIMONIALS

“Last night’s art event was for me ‘m’eyn olam ha-ba’ — a taste of the world to come. With profound thanks and anticipation for what comes next.”

• Joanna Samuels, Executive Director, Manny Cantor Center, New York (currently Executive Director, JCC Manhattan).

“You are an utter pleasure to work with. I hope this is just the beginning of our collaboration. Last night was a testament to all the work we put into this really paying off.”

• Emily Aldredge, Director, Educational Alliance Art School, New York.

“Yona was a pleasure to work with for my exhibition and artist’s talk at the Kraft Center. She is very professional and organized, and because of her vision the exhibition was a great success. She knows her primary community but also knows how to create interesting programs to spark new interest and dialogue. Her enthusiasm is so great that she makes magical projects come to life.”

• Cynthia Beth Rubin, artist; Digital Art Committee Chair, ACM Siggraph, New Haven, CT.

“Yona is the organizer of the Jewish Art Salon I have been attending. She is wonderful in bringing this diverse group of people together. Her vision, coupled with people skills and attention to detail, has created a lot of activities and growth for our program. Her vibrant and enthusiastic personality is reflected in her artwork as well.”

• Siona Benjamin, artist, Montclair, NJ.

“Yona and I worked closely together at the Columbia/Barnard Kraft Center exhibition Text and Context. There were a lot of moving parts: an international group exhibition, my solo exhibition, and several events during the run of the show. Yona was impressively easy to work with, open to new ideas, and clear about directions and organization. Her big-picture thinking and professional personality created the atmosphere of success that the exhibition proved to be.”

• Ellen Alt, artist, New York.