Gift to establish project on Judaism and the arts

The Mosse-Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies at UW–Madison will be expanding its mandate under a major grant from Marvin and Mildred Conney.

The $500,000 gift establishes the Conney Project on Jewish Arts, intended to be a major center for both art and scholarship, according to project director Douglas P. Rosenberg, associate professor of dance in the UW–Madison dance program and member of the Jewish studies faculty.

“The contribution of Jewish artists and scholars to modern art never has been explored adequately,” he says. “There is a remarkable amount of important work in the visual and performing arts as well as theory and writing about art. We will begin to collect images and text early next year to build a living archive in digital form.”

Rosenberg says he has taught one Conney Undergraduate Seminar on Judaism and the Arts, an endowed course taught every other year. There also has been a pilot colloquium, “Experimental Jews: Projecting Jewishness in the Visual Arts,” last year. The next event will be a colloquium on the Jewish presence in contemporary art, slated for spring of 2007.

During its inaugural five years, the project is intended to function as a center of activity regarding the Jewish contribution to the arts, says Rosenberg.

“The Conney Project will create opportunities for scholars and practicing artists to meet and exchange ideas,” Rosenburg says. Long-term plans for the project include an undergraduate seminar, a feature-length documentary and a visiting artists exchange. Public events will be incorporated throughout. Rosenberg says project collections will be as broad as the arts.

Marvin Conney graduated from UW–Madison in 1950 with a bachelor’s degree in economics. He is the retired CEO of Conney Safety Products of Madison. He is a board member of the George L. Mosse/Laurence A. Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies, the Bascom Hill Society and an advisory member for UW Hillel.

Conney Project headquarters will be in Ingraham Hall on the UW–Madison campus. For more information about the project, contact Rosenberg at (608) 262-1641, rosend@education.wisc.edu.