Melbourne to host inaugural Festival of Jewish Arts and Music

The inaugural Festival of Jewish Arts and Music will be held in Melbourne next year.

FOJAM will be staged on Sunday, September 8 at the Melbourne Recital Centre with Australian and international acts.

Predominantly music-based, its 30 performances will also feature contemporary dance, theatre and spoken word as well as panel discussions, installations and film screenings.

It was previously known as Shir Madness Melbourne, both times under the artistic direction of Deborah Conway and Willy Zygier.

Hear Them Holler founders Lior Albeck-Ripka and Jesse Lubitz have been appointed as new festival directors.

Hear Them Holler manages Husky, Tinpan Orange and Jazz Party and program and produce events as the 2018 sold-out Amy Winehouse music program presented with the Jewish Museum of Australia and worked with Red Square Music on new boutique regional music festival BAM (Bendigo Autumn Music).

As part of Hear Them Holler’s new vision, the festival will be themed year on year.

The theme for 2019 is ‘Walk on the Wild Side’, a tip of the hat to Jewish post-punk legend Lou Reed.

Albeck-Ripka, says “The themes give us a framework for going deep into an aspect of the Jewish experience – hopefully connecting some dots and challenging others.”

Conway points out, “Willy and I feel a great sense of achievement in having brought the festival to this point; we’re particularly delighted that Hear Them Holler’s Jesse and Lior will not just pick up where we left off but find new ways to express, renew & develop a contemporary Jewish arts festival that speaks to our community and beyond.”

Conway and Zygier remain heavily involved with the festival, moving into the roles of festival patrons.

They will also program the festival highlight, Songs Of Songs, hand-picking their favourite local singers to sing a composition by a Jewish composer before an all-star band.

Lubitz (Tinpan Orange) enthuses, “Whilst this is an ambitious undertaking, and we have big shoes to fill, it is a very exciting time for us.

“By moving the event into the heart of the city we hope to open it up to audiences outside the community and further invigorate Melbourne’s multicultural arts scene.”

The line up is announcements in March.

To grab tickets and for more information, head here.