Kadimah launches annual scholarship and fellowship

Kadimah has opened applications for two annual scholarships for performers and Yiddish learners, alongside its inaugural Creative Fellowship Program for Jewish musicians.

The Rokhl Holzer and Paula Boltman Scholarship provides $10,000 for one professional actor or music theatre performer to undertake a year-long engagement with Yiddish language, Jewish culture and live performance.

The scholarship honours Holzer and Boltman, two Yiddish actors whose work helped shape Melbourne’s Yiddish theatre and Jewish cultural life.

It is aimed at professional performers who are not from a Yiddish-speaking background, and is open to emerging, mid-career and established artists of any age and cultural background. Yiddish ancestry is not required.

The recipient will take ongoing Yiddish language classes, participate in creative developments with Kadimah Yiddish Theatre and perform at Kadimah events, including at least one public performance in Yiddish.

Kadimah Yiddish Theatre executive director Gary Abrahams said, “This scholarship is about inviting artists into Yiddish culture to help us thrive, not just as a heritage form, but so that they can experience it as a living, evolving art form.”

The Doris and David Burstin Yiddish Education Scholarship offers up to $7500 towards study, travel and accommodation for an intensive Yiddish course of at least three weeks at a recognised overseas institution.

Open to Australian applicants, it is suited to learners who have pursued locally available opportunities and wish to contribute to Yiddish education. Preference is given to applicants interested in teaching, and recipients commit to contributing to Kadimah’s education programs after their studies.

Funded by the Burstin family, the scholarship honours the couple’s commitment to Yiddish learning and life.

Kadimah interim chair Renata Singer said, “Supporting people to learn, perform and create is an investment in the future of Yiddish. These opportunities can change the direction of someone’s life, while enriching our whole community. We want to give people the encouragement and practical support to discover where Yiddish can take them.”

The fellowship pilot supports Jewish musicians working with any instrument or voice to develop new work. It offers four mentoring sessions with musician Adam Starr, a $500 stipend, opportunities to build industry connections and a studio performance, with the potential for a larger performance in early 2027.

Fellowship applications close on November 1, and scholarship applications close on November 30.

Details available at kadimah.org.au/yiddish-scholarships