AJPA Webinar: 100 Objects from the Collections of the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research

With Stefanie Halpern and Alex Weiser

A pair of ruby red slippers. A medieval manuscript. A Yiddish folk medicine prescription. These and 97 other objects comprise a new centennial coffee-table-book, 100 Objects from the Collections of the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, which chronicles modern Jewish history through 100 objects from the YIVO Archives and Library. This gorgeously illustrated book highlights unique manuscripts, photographs, objects, and other ephemera with accompanying essays by 57 leading scholars. Join the book’s editor, YIVO’s Director of Collections Stefanie Halpern, and one of the book's contributors, YIVO's Director of Public Programming Alex Weiser, for a discussion that highlights how this book traces YIVO’s role in documenting key moments in modern Jewish history and culture through its 100 years of collecting.

Registration is free for members. A confirmation email and Zoom link will be sent following registration.

Non-Member Registration Fee: $18

Meet our speakers!

 Stefanie Halpern is Director of Collections at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. She received her Ph.D. from the Department of Jewish Literature at the Jewish Theological Seminary and a Masters in Archival Studies from Clayton State University. Halpern has published on archival theory and practice, Yiddish theater, and Jewish performance, and was the assistant curator of the MCNY exhibition “From the Bowery to Broadway: New York’s Yiddish Theater.”

 Alex Weiser is the Director of Public Programs at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research where he curates and produces programs combining a fascination with and curiosity for historical context, with an eye toward influential Jewish contributions to the culture of today and tomorrow. Born and raised in NYC, Weiser is also an active composer of contemporary classical music. Weiser’s debut album and all the days were purple, was named a 2020 Pulitzer Prize Finalist and cited as “a meditative and deeply spiritual work whose unexpected musical language is arresting and directly emotional.” Released by Cantaloupe Music in April 2019, the album includes songs in Yiddish and English.