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ASYLUM ARTS INC
Brooklyn, NY · EIN 811339909 · Form 990 · FY2021 · Small ($100K-$1M) · asylum-arts.org
revenue
$431K
expenses
$360K
net assets
$218K
employees
1
program ratio
73%
mission · from form 990

Asylum Arts supports contemporary Jewish culture on an international scale, bringing greater exposure to artists and cultural initiatives and providing opportunities for new projects and collaborations. Asylum Arts, a global network of Jewish artists, currently with 696 members in the Americas, Israel, Europe, Australia and Africa, engages audiences with Jewish ideas and community through the vibrant Jewish and Israeli cultural landscape. We have created this international network through facilitated gatherings to build community, and by sparking action through small grants. We empower artists and cultural organizations to create experiences to broaden the impact of Jewish culture.

profile · synthesized from sources

Asylum Arts supports contemporary Jewish artists through grants, residencies, and collaborative projects that amplify Jewish cultural expression globally. The organization fosters a network of artists who explore Jewish identity, history, and community through diverse artistic practices. It operates internationally, with programs in North America, Israel, Europe, and Australia, and partners with cultural institutions to produce public art and performances.

named programs · 5 · from sources

What they call their work

Jewish Street Art Festival
Brings together Jewish street artists from the diaspora and Israel to create public murals on Jewish themes; reimagined in 2021 as Contemporary Plagues to address modern social issues through art in cities across North America
Made in Contact
Digital art-book project enabling 30 Asylum alumni artists worldwide to collaborate remotely despite social distancing
Peleh Residency
Family-friendly artist residency in Berkeley, CA offering time, space, stipend, childcare support, and mentorship to Jewish and Israeli artists across disciplines; designed to support artists who are also caregivers
Reimagine Exodus
Commissioning of new artistic projects that reinterpret Haggadah stories and Passover themes through contemporary lenses
Sustaining Practice Grants
Financial support for artists during the pandemic to maintain their creative practice amid cultural sector closures
activities · 6 groups

What they do

  • Artist Residencies and Studio Programs 3 activities
    • Family-Inclusive Artist Residencies
      Hosts international artists in residence for three to six months, providing housing, studio space, stipends, travel support, and childcare; has hosted artists from England, Israel, Germany, Mexico, and Canada across disciplines including visual art, dance, film, and poetry.
    • International Artist Retreats and Career Development Programs
      Organizes international and local artist retreats, including Artist Career Development Programs, to build connected communities of Jewish artists; has conducted five international retreats in upstate New York and twenty local retreats globally, including seven in Tel Aviv.
    • Professional Development and Mentorship for Artists
      Offers professional development programs for emerging Israeli and diaspora Jewish artists, including workshops on fundraising, marketing, financial management, and press engagement; supports individualized career action plans and facilitates mentorship pairings with senior Bay Area-based professionals.
  • Artist Support Grants 1 activity
    • Artist Grants and Project Funding
      Provides small grants and emergency funding to support the realization of creative projects by Jewish artists; has disbursed 299 grants to 190 artists, funding 47 collaborative projects across 20 countries and reaching over 1.2 million viewers through supported work.
  • Community-Engaged Public Art Projects 1 activity
    • Commissioned Art Projects and Public Installations
      Commissions and produces new artistic works, including murals, digital art, and installations, often in collaboration with partner organizations; recent projects include murals addressing housing and food insecurity, a digital Haggadah reimagining, and an installation at the Vilna Shul in Boston.
  • Arts Professional Advocacy & Equity Initiatives 1 activity
    • Special Initiatives Centering Marginalized Voices
      Facilitates immersive programs focused on amplifying Black artist voices within Jewish cultural spaces, led by recognized curators such as Daonne Huff of The Studio Museum in Harlem.
  • Art Appreciation and Public Engagement 1 activity
    • Virtual Artist Engagement Series
      Hosts recurring 30-minute virtual studio visits featuring artists from its alumni network, offering audiences insight into current practices and upcoming projects with live Q&A; also known as Art/Break.
  • Uncategorized 1 activity
    • Global Jewish Artist Network and Community Building
      Operates a global network of nearly 700 Jewish artists across the Americas, Israel, Europe, Australia, and Africa; facilitates gatherings, collaborations, and cultural action to strengthen the field of contemporary Jewish art.
financials · form 990 · fy2021
revenue
Total revenue$431K
Contributions & grants$430K100%
Program service revenue$1K0%
Investment income$00%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$360K
Program expenses73%
Admin / overhead14%
Fundraising13%
Salaries & benefits$71K
Grants paid out$122K
Largest expense lineProfessional Fees
balance sheet
Total assets$222K
Cash$222K
Investments$0
Liabilities$3K
Net assets$218K
Liquid reserves7.4 mo
2 years on record · 2020–2021 · YoY revenue +1.0%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2021

Who runs it

paid leadership · 1
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
Rebecca Guber Founder & Director 40 $65K
board members · 3
  • Aaron Bisman — Treasurer
  • Marge Goldwater — Board Chair
  • Rachel Klinghoffer — Secretary
relationships · 29

Who they work with

  • Artport Partner — Ongoing partner in delivering the Artist Career Development Program for Israeli artists.
  • CANVAS Funder — Provided financial support for the Jewish Street Art Festival Passover 2021 – Contemporary Plagues.
  • CANVAS Funder — Provided generous support for the production of “Golem v. Golem.”
  • Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco Partner — Additional digital partner in the “Golem v. Golem” project.
  • JArts Boston Partner — Collaborated with Asylum Arts to commission new artistic projects for the Days of Awe.
  • Jewish Arts Collaborative Partner — Co-presented “Golem v. Golem” with Asylum Arts.
  • Jewish Book Council Partner — Produced the companion literary collaboration “What We Talk About When We Talk to the Golem” by Moriel Rothman-Zecher.
  • Jewish Museum Milwaukee Partner — Additional digital partner in the “Golem v. Golem” project.
  • Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU Partner — Additional digital partner in the “Golem v. Golem” project.
  • LABA Partner — Collaborated on the production of the Jewish Street Art Festival Passover 2021 – Contemporary Plagues.
  • Maria Veits Partner — Co-curated the Yiddishland Pavilion at the Venice Biennale with support from Asylum Arts.
  • Meislin Projects Partner — Co-organized the Art/Break series of virtual studio visits with Asylum Arts.
  • Meislin Projects Partner — Co-organizes the Art/Break series of virtual studio visits with Asylum Arts.
  • POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews Partner — Invited the artist to present the orchestral version of "and all the days were purple" in Warsaw, providing a platform for cultural and historical engagement.
  • Peleh Residency Partner — Collaborates to offer family-friendly artist residencies in Berkeley, CA
  • Roulette Partner — Performing arts and new music venue that commissioned the original work and hosted the premiere of "and all the days were purple".
  • Stan Greenspon Center for Peace and Social Justice at Queens University of Charlotte Partner — Partnered on Mike Wirth’s mural addressing housing insecurity in Charlotte.
  • Tablet Magazine Partner — Collaborated with Asylum Arts on a special Pre-Passover Art/Break featuring Shai Azoulay in conversation with Tablet Editor-in-Chief Alana Newhouse.
  • The Neighborhood: An Urban Center for Jewish Life Partner — Asylum Arts is developing a home in Brooklyn as part of this new Jewish gathering place, with its founder taking on a leadership role.
  • The Neighborhood: An Urban Center for Jewish Life Partner — Asylum Arts is now part of The Neighborhood: An Urban Center for Jewish Life.
  • The Neighborhood: An Urban Center for Jewish Life Partner — Asylum Arts will be integrated into The Neighborhood as its key arts programming pillar.
  • The Studio Museum in Harlem Partner — Collaborated with the Director of Public Programs & Community Engagement at The Studio Museum in Harlem to lead a program.
  • The Studio Museum in Harlem Partner — Daonne Huff, Director of Public Programs & Community Engagement at the museum, led a program on Black artist voices in collaboration with Asylum Arts.
  • UJA Federation of Greater Toronto Partner — Partnered on Bareket Kezwer’s mural addressing binary thinking at the Miles Nadal JCC in Toronto.
  • UJA-Federation of New York Government — Provided an initial grant to support The Neighborhood, the organization integrating Asylum Arts as its arts programming pillar.
  • Vilna Shul Partner — Presented “Golem v. Golem” in partnership with Asylum Arts at Boston’s Center for Jewish Culture.
  • YIVO Institute for Jewish Research Partner — Organization where the artist engaged with Jewish history and Yiddish poetry, influencing the thematic content of the commissioned work.
  • Yevgeniy Fiks Partner — Curated the Yiddishland Pavilion at the Venice Biennale with support from Asylum Arts.
  • partner organizations Partner — Collaborates with partner organizations to deliver local retreats and share knowledge.
strategies · 5

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Artist-Centered Cultural Development and Social Change
    methodology: artist-centered cultural development
    By centering artists as primary agents of cultural interpretation and social change, Asylum Arts enables deeper exploration of Jewish identity and global issues because artistic voices uniquely illuminate contemporary experience and inspire transformative dialogue.
  • Artist-Grant-Making with Network Cohesion
    methodology: artist-grant-making
    By providing grants to artists who have previously engaged with Asylum Arts, the organization strengthens a cohesive global network, reinforcing long-term collaboration and cultural impact because sustained relationships amplify artistic and communal outcomes.
  • Arts-Integrated Jewish Communal Infrastructure
    methodology: arts-integrated Jewish community building
    By embedding artistic practice within Jewish communal life and institutional partnerships, Asylum Arts strengthens cultural continuity and access because art functions as both a bridge and engine for engagement across geographic, generational, and social divides.
  • Family-Inclusive Artist Support as Structural Enablement
    methodology: family-inclusive artist residency
    By designing residencies and institutional support that accommodate caregiving responsibilities, Asylum Arts enables sustained artistic participation because removing structural barriers allows artist-parents to thrive creatively and communally.
  • Global Network Building for Cultural Enrichment
    methodology: global artist network
    By connecting multi-disciplinary Jewish and Israeli artists globally through in-person and virtual platforms, Asylum Arts enriches cultural expression and fosters dialogue because cross-context collaboration generates innovative forms of artistic and communal meaning.