Melissa Shiff | Events Archive

	The Medium is the Matzo - Montreal April 10- May 1st, 2011 Concordia University Library Building Atrium "The Medium is the Matzo", is a one-of-a-kind, once-in-a-lifetime mashup of art, music, technology, and matzo that brings the ancient Passover holiday to life for audiences of every persuasion and any age. Indie Star Josh "Socalled" Dolgin to Perform Rarely Heard "Socalled Seder" Manischewitz donates over 5000 pieces of matzo for 3-D installation
	September 20-21, 2010 University of Toronto, Munk School of Global Affairs 1 Devonshire Place., South House A two day symposium devoted to the cross-disciplinary investigation of the multiple meanings of European Jewry before, during and after the fin de siècle. Melissa Shiff's lecture, "ARK: Restaging the Jewish Museum in Prague", will be held on September 20th at 7:30pm. Link to Program
	Jewish Community Foundation of Montreal Melissa Shiff has been awarded a significant grant to mount *The Medium is the Matzo* in Montreal, Passover 2011, Venue, TBA More details to follow... Link to JCF Grant Recipient page
	Tuesday March 23rd \| 7pm to 9pm \| FREE Alumni Hall ( Room 112), Victoria College, University of Toronto 91 Charles Street West A multi-media Passover Happening with artist Melissa Shiff and Professors Doris Bergen, Ritu Birla, Harriet Friedmann & Michelle Murphy. Times Square Seder, The Medium is the Matzo and Cine-Seder Plate are all art-activist Passover Happenings created by artist Melissa Shiff. For this event, Shiff will install her award winning video sculpture Cine-Seder Plate and invite local scholars to respond to the questions raised in her video projection. With this project, as in all of her reinvented Passover projects, Shiff asks us to think about Passover in light of contemporary problems that plague us today. PDF invitation
	for Jeffrey Shandler's book Jews, God and Videotape, NYU Press, 2010 Excerpt, Page 172: " On occasion, a bride and groom conceptualize their wedding as an original work of art of their own making, in which mediation defines the structure of the celebration as forthrightly as religious protocol. Such was the case when media installation artist Melissa Shiff and her husband, art historian Louis Kaplan, planned their wedding, which took place in Toronto on 12 October 2003. Shiff describes the ceremony as a reinvented ritual, using "postmodern artistic strategies" that negotiate "between contemporary performance art and the customs of the traditional Jewish wedding." Link to the book at NYU Press website
	Melissa Shiff's work is featured in Terry Barrett's textbook Making Art Form and Meaning Her work appears in the chapter: Postmodern Strategies for Making Art, other artists included in this chapter are Grand Fury, Cindy Sherman, Guillermo Gomez-Peña Published by McGraw Hill Link to Amazon
	What is Sculpture in the 21st Century? London, England April 7 - 9, 2010 Presentation of ARK on "The Language of Sculpture" panel. The ISC's 22nd International Sculpture Conference will explore and consider the potential of sculpture in the 21st century - to provide an opportunity to both celebrate its vitality and diversity, its capacity to challenge, and to examine its current position, function and production. Conference website
	Beth Hatefutsoth, Tel Aviv, Israel February 25 - April 2010 Shiff's Postmodern Jewish Wedding is exhibited in this group show. Through contemporary plastic art, the exhibition portrays the changes that take place in wedding ceremonies in the last decades Exhibition website
	Beth Hatefutsoth, Tel Aviv, Israel December 31, 2009 - March 31, 2010 Shiff's JAMS (Jewish Animated Mandalas) will be on display. Exerpt from David Sperber's essay written for Judaica Twist: Since the late 1960's, and especially in the 1980's, Judaica objects have held a significant place in the work of Jewish artists in Israel and abroad: Judaica – not yiddishkeit. In centers of contemporary art, these objects furnished the source of a radical, critical motif which was woven into the artistic discourse. Read full length essay Exhibition website
	Los Angeles December 20 - 22, 2009 "Arks Salvage/JAMS Preserve" This video presentation addresses Shiff's recent projects that have remediated parts of major Jewish Museum collections and where Shiff was able to create compelling visual spectacles in the process.
	Emet Gallery, Montreal March 25 - Sept. 7, 2009 Melissa Shiff's Postmodern Jewish Wedding in Group Show. This group exhibition features video and photographic works by three artists: Lucy Levene (UK), Devora Neumark (Montreal) and Melissa Shiff (Toronto). These artists reclaim and rewrite aspects surrounding Jewish marriage rituals, by questioning certain patriarchal traditions of courting, wedding and divorce. More about the exhibition
	Fall 2008 Melissa Shiff has recently been appointed Adjunct Professor in the Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Toronto for a three year term. The appointment of Adjunct Professor is given only to distinguished individuals who have special expertise needed to complement academic programs.
	Conference, NY. NY. February 1-4, 2009 Panel- Collection as Spectacle: New Display Strategies Chair: Alla Efimova, Tentative list of participants: Norman Kleeblatt, Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Reesa Greenberg and Melissa Shiff video presentation of ARK and JAMS
	The Dorothy Saxe Invitational - Artists Reinterpret the Seder Plate March 1 - May 31, 2009 Opening Feb 25 Melissa Shiff will create a CINE-Seder Plate, rethinking this form in a cinematic style. This will be the first Invitational exhibition in the new museum designed by Daniel Libeskind. It will also celebrate the Museum's 25th anniversary.
	April 23, 2009 Melissa Shiff has been invited to give the biannual endowed Samuel and Bettie Roberts Lecture in Jewish Art in the spring semester of 2009. More details to follow. Fairfield University
	July, 2007 - Volume 50.3 REVIEW OF ARK by Bruce Jenkins, Dean of Undergraduate Studies, School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Curator: The Museum Journal "The spectral character of Shiff's projections coupled with footage and photographs of people and places that survive only as images, capture perfectly the tragic aspect of this historical chronicle." "Shiff joins a handful of media artists, includling Bill Viola and Mary Lucier, Beryl Korot and Chantal Akerman, who have placed this contemporary form of the moving image arts in the service of probing the past - creating time machines that transport us into historic sites, sacred spaces, and arenas that challenge the limits of sacrifice and faith." Click here to read full review
	Activating Exodus: the art of Melissa Shiff By Heather Diack Excerpt from essay: "Shiff is an artist who is decidedly activist, in all senses of the word. Assuming that activism also implies questions of "access" and "affect," Shiff looks for the transformative possibilities of religion and culture by using a keen sense of philosophical subtlety and opening up spaces for emergent discourse through interrogation and constant critique. Ultimately, art and faith must be regarded as issues of contingency and exchange in order to stay vibrant, relevant, and powerful." Full length article available by clicking here
	April 13, 2008 Center for Jewish History, NY, NY Screening of Postmodern Jewish Wedding Melissa Shiff will screen her film Postmodern Jewish Wedding and lecture about the creation of her real life performance art wedding at: Objects of Affection: The Jewish Wedding in Media and Material Culture (Schedule TBA) As the most elaborately celebrated of Jewish life cycle events, weddings provide rich opportunities to consider the intersection of media and Jewish religious life. Scholars, artists, curators discuss the visual and material culture of weddings including photography, videography, music and their portrayal on stage and in film. Link to colloquium announcement at Center for Religion and Media NYU Link to Center for Media, Culture and History, NYU
	April 1, 2008 Melissa Shiff Lectures at San Jose State University Melissa Shiff has been invited to present her work at the Natalie and James Thompson Art Gallery. Click here to read more about the conference
	The Jewish Museum New York March 16, 2008 - March 27, 2008 Off the Wall: Artists at Work is a two-week open studio project featuring 12 artists working and performing in the galleries. Representing a new generation with strong Jewish social networks or a familiarity with Jewish rituals and symbols, artists will create a work-in-progress and exhibit other work in various media including fashion, music, performance art, video and new technologies. Events include concerts, salons, a runway show, and a Purim party. Closing Party Thursday March 27, 9pm Levi Okunov’s Fashion Show with video projections by Melissa Shiff and a live mix by diwon. Other musical guests include Smadar and Y-Love. For full length description of this upcoming show please click here
	catastrophe, trauma, possibility March 28, 2008 - March 30, 2008 The Design Exchange, 234 Bay Street, Toronto: ARK Screening Saturday March 29th, 10:30-11:00am and 1:00-1:30pm Panel Discussion Saturday March 29th, 4-5pm Presenters: Melissa Shiff (THE ARCHIVE IN THE DELUGE), Cathy Gordon (ON MY KNEES: A Public Divorce Ceremony), Liam Johnstone (TBA) Ontario Science Centre, 770 Don Mills Road, Toronto: ARK Screening Sunday March 30th, 10:00am - 5:00pm Link to digifest website
	Repairing the World: Contemporary Ritual Art November 04, 2007 - March 16, 2008 *Melissa Shiff's Elijah Chair* in Group Show with Richard Meier** This exhibition highlights a group of contemporary ceremonial artwork from The Jewish Museum’s collection. These works, innovative in design and message, explore a wide range of contemporary issues facing both modern Jewish life and broader society. More about the exhibition
	February 26, 2008 Melissa Shiff has been invited to lecture about her work at Evergreen State College in Olympia Washington. She will also give a lecture at Temple Beth Hatfiloh. For more information about the lecture please click here
	Fall 2007, No. 14 Pages 30-62 Susan Chevlowe, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Jewish Art and Visual Culture at the Jewish Theological Seminary, writes on the work of Melissa Shiff and Hannah Iverson in Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women Studies and Gender Issues. Click here to read excerpt
	December 23-27, 2007 Melissa Shiff has been invited to present her work at Limmud UK at the University of Warwick in Coventry England. Click here to read more about the conference
	Toronto, December 16th - 18th 2007 Jewish Museums and Displays: New Directions, Obstacles and Opportunities Sunday December 16th, 4:15 - 6:15 pm Reesa Greenberg lectures on ARK in her paper entitled: Displaying Judaica: Secularizing the Sacred Panel Chair: James E. Young Excerpt from Reesa Greenberg's Abstract: "For the most part, museum displays of Judaica utilize the “treasure” mode... I argue that recent artist projects (eg. Larry Abramson’s Searching for the Ideal City, 2006, at the Magnes Museum, San Francisco and Melissa Shiff’s Ark, 2006, at the Jewish Museum in Prague) shift the paradigm and, in so doing, reanimate both the artifacts and the museum. Rather than emphasize a lost or aestheticized past, these temporary artist projects, working with and against the habitual forms of displaying Judaica, offer new ways for viewers to understand and experience Judaica." Engaging Contemporary Art in Jewish Studies: A Scholar's Rountable with Three Contemporary Toronto Artists. Roundtable: Sunday December 16, 2-4pm Organized by Professor Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett and Professor Jeffrey Shandler . Melissa Shiff will present her work and two scholars will also present on Shiff's projects --Shelley Hornstein and Chava Weissler Chair: Jeffrey Shandler Artists: Melissa Shiff, Rafael Goldchain, and Meyer Kirshenblatt (with Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett) Panelists: Jonathan Boyarin, John Efron, Shelley Hornstein, Olga Litvak, Chava Weissler, and Carol Zemel Click here to read roundtable abstract
	Public Viewing of Proposals: January 15, 2008 Melissa Shiff Shortlisted for Fort-York and Original Lake Ontario Shoreline Public Art Competition for the City of Toronto. Other Shortlisted Artist include: Lisa Steele and Kim Tomczak Daniel Laskarin and Robert Youds Maha Mustafa Tony Stallard Description of commission: Currently, Toronto Culture is seeking to commission an artwork that delineates the original Lake Ontario shoreline and related features, which can be traced along the north side of Fort York Boulevard. It is expected that the artwork will illuminate the Fort’s original relationship with the lake, and act as a landmark for a new entrance to the city’s most important historic site. Click here to read more about Fort York
	September 29th, 2007 ICONOCLASH: NIGHT of AWE DANCE PARTY Medium: Multimedia Installation Venue: Grange Park When the iconoclastic Moses descends the mountain holding The Ten Commandments to find his people dancing around the golden calf, the party’s over. In contrast to Judaism, Hindus worship the cow as holy. This tension between what religious cultures hold sacred is at the heart of Melissa Shiff’s ICONOCLASH. Shiff projects iconic movie scenes onto Toronto’s temple of art (the AGO façade) and pairs this with a multicultural music mix to create an interactive dance party. Superimposing the audience into these scenes via video technology, ICONOCLASH focuses reflection on the question of visual representation and the function of the icon in different cultures. Click here to read more about Nuit Blanche
	Oakland University Art Gallery- Rochester Michigan March 10- April 15th Opening reception Saturday March 10th 6-8pm TerGloba Website Artists' Panel featuring Hasan Elahi, Melissa Shiff, Alexander C. Mouton, Dmitrey Stakovosky, John Craig Freeman, and Valerie Mendoza on Sunday March 11th 2-4pm Curated by Vagner M. Whitehead Other participating artists: Dread Scott, Susan E. Evans, Vagner M. Whitehead, and others. Melissa Shiff will exhibit her "Crush Oppression Pillow Project" as part of this group show. Press release: "The positive promise of globalization, of all good things shared and accessed by all, has yet to be fully realized - we still live with disease, terrorism, starvation, and inequality and few people control the majority of goods. Articulating an array of personal perspectives, the artists in this exhibition come from a diverse and expansive range of nationalities and ethnicities exploring different facets of globalization in their artistic practice..."
	» www.rejewvenation2005.com October 21st--November 20 Command J: Jewish Laws Digital Arts Group exhibition as part of the ReJewvenation conference. Melissa Shiff will be exhibiting her video installation Gender Cuts/The Jew Under The Knife. Other participating artists are Helene Aylon (New York), Simon Glass (Toronto), and Jeffrey Shaw (Sydney) Opening Reception: October 23rd 3- 7pm at XPACE in Kensington Market, 303 Augusta Ave. Toronto. Thanks to the Toronto Arts Council for supporting this project. October 28-31, 2005 ReJewvenation: The Futures of Jewish Culture, University of Toronto conference. October 29th, 2005 As part of Rejewvenation, Melissa Shiff will be presenting her work at the roundtable discussion "The Futures of Jewish Ritual." The panel will be moderated by renowned scholar Professor Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett (NYU) Melissa Shiff's presentation is entitled: Kicking the Habit: Making Rituals for Happening People. The panel will be held at the Wolfond Centre for Jewish Life, University of Toronto, 36 Harbord Street, 3:30- 5pm October 30, 2005 There will be a Visual Arts panel at the ReJewvenation conference in conjunction with the exhibition to be held at The Robert Gill Theatre, 214 College Street, 3rd Floor featuring presentations by Norman Kleeblatt, Carol Zemel, Jessica Wyman and Louis Kaplan, 3-5 pm. Professor Jessica Wyman (OCAD) will be presenting "Cutting Gender, Splicing Ritual: Melissa Shiff's Gender Cuts/The Jew Under the Knife" November 13, 2005 Artist Talks - Toronto Artists Simon Glass ("The Ten Commandments/Prohibited Weapons") and Melissa Shiff ("Gender Cuts/The Jew Under the Knife") discuss their works at XPACE, 303 Augusta, Kensington Market, 3 pm.
	April 8 - May 2, 2005 Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life, at NYU: exhibition featuring: passover projections, elijah lounge, miriam bar, » matzo ball activism May 6-8, 2004 \| The Center for Religion and Media, at NYU: RELIGIOUS WITNESS: THE INTIMATE, THE EVERYDAY, THE WORLD (pdf file)