Concept
Urban Studio is an educational project designated for students and graduates who specialize in social sciences and art - architects, researchers of space (sociologists of the city, sociologists of space, social geographers, anthropologists and philosophers) that are professionally developing in their sphere, and are interested in widening horizons of their viewing and opportunities through interdisciplinary intersections.
One of the project's primary goals is creating a framework that enables fruitful communication and cooperative work among representatives of diverse professions who deal with the notion of “space” in their professional activity. Under “space” we mean both- physical space, space of interaction and habitation as well as “social” space created as the result of interaction between people.
The platform for work in the studio is urbanism and the topic of city, connecting people, space and cultures. The three elements that appear in the title –spaces, people, and languages – are the basis of the viewing the city as an “attempt of a person to build the world upon his vision and dreams”.
The main theme of the project that gives depth to the interdisciplinary conversation is the identity of a person, its place in creation of a community with a shared identity and the place of different communities in creation of space.
The studio program is based on Jewish texts, images, and meanings that gives depth and multidimensionality to work in the studio. We believe that the Jewish culture can be a huge resource for personal enrichment and development. The history of Jewish culture based on classic Jewish texts and supplemented by commentaries of different levels, presents a unique experience of creation in constantly changing situations. Relating to this experience forms personal vision, plenty of new ideas and ways of their realization in the modern world.
As a result of work in the studio the vision is reformed of how, in participants' opinion, the human society should be constructed in its physical appearance. This vision will be embodied in participants' projects, articles and research papers.
Format
The format of the project includes a series of studio seminars ten days long that take place once every half a year as well as meetings between studio seminars dedicated to elaboration of projects to represent them in external exhibitions and contests and also meetings in the virtual journal of the studio.
Target group
Urban studio is an international project that creates connections between people from different countries – Israel, the FSU countries, the USA, Germany –with common vision and common aspirations.
The project's target group is Russian-speaking Jews from different countries around the world.
This group of population is very socially mobile that creates tension between three elements of their identity- Jewish, Israeli (as a part of Jewish identity) and Russian (language and culture) - and motivates them to undertake a serious journey in terms of identity clarification.
As a result of co-work in the frame of the project a community is formed of professionals in the sphere of social sciences and art that has a huge potential to impact the development of the modern society.
Results
The results of the studio are:
- Acquirement of skills by the participants to build interdisciplinary intersections
- Creation of new ideas and projects both in narrow professional spheres and on their intersections
- Publication of academic and popular articles, dedicated to the themes of the studio
- Participation of works, created as the result of the studio work in external contests, exhibitions and so on
- Creation of a virtual journal, on whose pages discussions of the studio's main results will continue.
