Award-winning Israeli illustrator, educator and children’s book author Hanoch Piven will be in Kansas City from Feb. 28 to March 3 for an artist-in-residence weekend.
Throughout the weekend, Piven will lead multiple events for hundreds of members from the Kansas City Jewish community.
Piven’s art has been published across the world, including in publications such as Time Magazine, Rolling Stone Magazine and Israel’s Haaretz. He is also the creator of several TV programs for the Israeli Educational Television network.
Piven’s visual art method takes everyday objects and uses them to create collage portraits. His process relies heavily on found items, miscellaneous objects and upcycled materials, such as fake flowers, disposable utensils, loose beads, broken crayons, spare hardware, pebbles, buttons, marbles and more.
Bridey Stangler, Jewish Federation’s Engagement Specialist and PJ Library coordinator, organized and planned the artist-in-residence weekend.
“I am so thrilled to be working with our many partners to gather our community around such a joyful body of art and such a whimsical and creative process,” Stangler said. “This is our chance to explore our individual and group identities as members of so many different tribes — Americans, Jews, Midwesterners, men, women — the list is unending.”
The artist-in-residence weekend includes workshops and talks from Piven designed for all ages. In addition to working with Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy students and Village Shalom residents, there will be a number of free events open to the community as a whole.
Throughout Shabbat, there will be three opportunities to hear from Piven about his work and to explore themes of identity, self-expression and what community is made of.
Piven will be speaking at Kabbalat Shabbat services at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah and presenting a screen-free lecture on his creative process on Saturday morning at Congregation Beth Shalom. On Saturday afternoon, adults in the community can gather at B’nai Jehudah for a workshop on artistic reinvention and self-expression. Attendees will create their own Piven-style portraits and explore Jewish identity through visual arts.
On Sunday, there are workshops for both children and families, aiming to bring together the future generation of our Jewish community. In the morning, hundreds of children will gather for the Kids Community Workshop.
Stangler organized the participation of all religious schools in the area, and those not enrolled in religious school are also encouraged to attend. Piven will work with third-through-sixth-grade students to create their own abstract self-portraits from upcycled materials.
In the afternoon, Piven will bring his visit to a close with a family portrait session. He’ll be working across generations to help families grow closer and foster their connections and relationships through art. Kids, parents and grandparents are invited to create their family portraits together.
“This is a really special opportunity for our community to experiment with art and their imagination,” Stangler said. “I hope everyone will take the chance to participate and learn.”
More information and registration for the events is available at jewishkansascity.org/events/hanoch-piven.
