I have witnessed first hand the sense of pride that comes from positive moments of cultural expression working in Los Angeles for the past six years. I began my career directing a contemporary art gallery in the Culver City Arts District. Currently, I am an independent art consultant for Hebrew Union College-Los Angeles and I am the Program Director for the Jewish Artists Initiative (JAI), a regional nonprofit focused on supporting and advancing Jewish visual and performance artists. My position with these organizations taught me a great deal about the powerful effect that arts and culture have on members of the Jewish community. 

These experiences, combined with my graduate work in Public Art Studies from the USC Roski School of Fine Arts and the Hebrew Union College-JIR, LA School for Jewish Non-Profit Management, led me to envision new approaches to Jewish cultural engagement.  

My primary interest is in expanding the Jewish culture conversation by finding new ways to share our diverse narratives in the public sphere. Thus, I launched Nu ART [Insert Culture Here] Projects in the Spring of 2011 beginning with the SEDER meal-based Micro Grant. The SEDER initiative led me expand the Nu ART concept to include a mobile lab.

Through these efforts I received a spot in the 2011 PresenTense (PT) Global Summit and was listed as a 2011 Big Jewcy. I am excited to spend six-weeks in Jerusalem this summer participating in the PT fellowship program and workshopping this idea. 

Leah Whitehill is an arts professional from Washington, DC. In 2006, she studied Studio Art and Art History at the University of Haifa in Israel for one year. Afterwards, she pursued her Bachelors in Studio Art at the University of Maryland, where she also completed a minor degree in Linguistics. Leah has spent the past several years working in wide-ranging positions in the arts industry, from studio assistant to non-profit gallery assistant to outreach coordinator. She moved to Los Angeles this June to get involved in the arts scene here. Her passions include Judaism, Women's Rights, and Domestic Violence prevention and education. She is thrilled to join Nu ART.