Picture this: It is a beautiful fall day, and a diverse crowd of more than 6,000 people has gathered to enjoy a day of food, entertainment and enrichment at the Jewish Community Campus in suburban Kansas City.
Rain or shine, Jewish Culture Fest is an event that visual artists won’t want to miss. Fest organizers are already taking applications here from interested artists for the roughly 50 to 60 slots available, with an application deadline of June 15.
Culture Fest is scheduled to run from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023, at the campus, 5801 W. 115th St., in Overland Park.
Participating artists do not have to be Jewish.
The Fest’s organizers only ask that at least 10% of an artist’s work be “Jew-ish,” which they broadly define as addressing themes like peace, honey and bees (which both represent Israel as the “land of milk and honey” or the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah), or even colors like blue and white, which also have ancient religious significance.
Pieces can be as secular as candlesticks or a ceramic plate, two personal examples shared by Beatrice Fine as a co-chair of the Visual Arts Steering Committee. Neither of those items were discernibly religious, but they became Jewish when her late parents used their wedding present to light the Shabbat candles in their home and when her friend hauled out her “bagel platter.”
“Culture Fest should be a place where people can acquire items that they love and that they use in their celebrations,” Fine said. “The use is what can make them ‘Jewish.’"
The festival has a rich tradition dating back nearly three decades, and it has always been a showcase for locally, nationally and internationally recognized performers and artists, interactive and educational activities for children, and vendors offering a variety of Vaad-supervised kosher cuisine.
New features this year include kosher wine tasting and a focus on environmental sustainability.
Another new addition this year is the “aspiring artists” option introduced by Sheryl Kaplan, the other co-chair of the Visual Arts Steering Committee. Committee members chose “What Does Peace Look Like to You?” as the theme because it is inclusive and can be interpreted in many ways.
The qualifications for aspiring artists are:
- Must be between the ages of 16-20
- Must have a minimum of seven pieces of art from any medium to sell
- All art will be shown in a shared booth with other aspiring artists
Kaplan’s inspiration for the new category came from the impressive talents and abilities of the high school students she works with. Including aspiring artists, she said, gives students “the chance to be a part of an established and organized art show, lets them gain the experience of what is involved with showing their work, and maybe allows them the opportunity to learn how to market and sell their work.”
Aspiring artists can apply here. Applications are due by May 1.
All other artists should review their application form for all other details about the show and their participation requirements. Media categories for the show are ceramics, digital art, drawing/pastels, fibers, glass, jewelry, metal, two-dimensional mixed media, three-dimensional mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking/graphics, sculpture, and wood.
More information about the Jewish Culture fest is available at zapplication.org/event-info.php?ID=11061.