Jewish American Heritage Month
For JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH 2026, we have curated a group of video conversations from the ArtSpeak archives with impactful Jewish-American writers, artists, architects, and performance artists. Beginning March, 2020, some of the videos below were recorded via Zoom. Click on any video link (below the images). You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.
A Video Conversation with Pulitzer Prize-Winning Art Spiegelman
New Yorker cartoonist ART SPIELGELMAN has almost single-handedly brought comic books out of the toy closet and onto the literature shelves. In 1992, he won the Pulitzer Prize for his masterful Holocaust narrative “Maus“— which portrays Jews as mice and Nazis as cats.
Lauren Fisher: Emmy Award-Winning Animator + Creative Director
LAUREN FISHER is a two-time Emmy-winning director and creative director specializing in sports documentaries, animation, and branded storytelling. Her work blends vérité filmmaking, cinematic design, and bold, emotionally resonant storytelling—often elevating athletes’ personal journeys beyond the arena. She directed “In The Arena: Serena Williams” (ESPN), “Greatness Code” (Apple TV+) featuring Lebron James and Tom Brady, and “Believers: Boston Red Sox,” featuring Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Bill Burr, and Donnie Wahlburg.
Remembering Frank Gehry and the New World Center
World-renowned architect FRANK GEHRY (1929-2025) designed the New World Center (NWC), the most technologically advanced concert hall in the world, for the New World Symphony. Watch our ArtSpeak panel discussion about collaborating with Gehry to create this very special space.
Best-Selling Author Dani Shapiro
DANI SHAPIRO is the author of eleven books, and the host and creator of the hit podcast “Family Secrets.” Her most recent novel, “Signal Fires,” was named a best book of 2022 by NPR, Time magazine, the Washington Post, Amazon, and others, and is a national bestseller.
Three-Time U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky’s Autobiography: “Jersey Breaks”
ROBERT PINSKY is a poet, essayist, translator, teacher, and speaker. His first two terms as United States Poet Laureate were marked by such visible dynamism—and such national enthusiasm in response—that the Library of Congress appointed him to an unprecedented third term. Throughout his career, Pinsky has been dedicated to identifying and invigorating poetry’s place in the world.
Hannah Baumgarten: Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Dance NOW! Miami
HANNAH BAUMGARTEN grew up between Santa Cruz, California, and Jerusalem, Israel where she began her dance training. She co-founded Dance NOW! Miami (DNM) with Diego Salterini in 2000, and with DNM has toured the US, Mexico, Central America, South America, and Europe.
Tony Kahn: Public Broadcasting Pioneer
TONY KAHN has written, produced, narrated and hosted more than fifty radio and television programs and series for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), National Public Radio (NPR), Nickelodeon, A&E Cable, Monitor Radio, CBS Cable, and Boston television stations WGBH and WCVB.
Artist Donna Ruff: More and Less
DONNA RUFF is a visual artist, curator and educator. She works in mixed media on found printed matter, primarily newspaper headline pages and historical documents. Ruff questions how written and photographic narratives are constructed by removing and transforming printed text and image to recontextualize the portrayal of world events.
Joel Meyerowitz: Making Photographs That Matter
JOEL MEYEROWITZ is an award-winning photographer whose work has appeared in over 350 exhibitions in museums and galleries around the world. He has published 55 books of photographs, including “Cape Light” (1978) and “Aftermath” (2011).
