2014 AIDA AWARDS The Association of Israel’s Decorative Arts (AIDA) Awards 20 Scholarships/Residencies

Palm Beach, FL—The Association of Israel’s Decorative Arts (www.aidaarts.org) is pleased to announce that it has awarded scholarships/residencies to The Studio at the Corning Museum of Glass, Haystack Mountain School, Penland School of Crafts, Pilchuck Glass School , and UrbanGlass to 19 artists from Israel. Each of these awards includes tuition, room and board, and a travel grant.

As Dale Anderson, one of AIDA’s co-founders said, “AIDA has helped support the careers of a generation of artists from Israel. Living and working in small, intense artist communities provides these artists with a unique learning experience and gives the unexpected a chance to happen. Underlying all of AIDA’s activities is the goal of promoting a positive face of contemporary Israel.”

This year’s award winners are Nimrod Azulay, Lisbeth Biger, Olya Brenner, Michal Caspi, Li Chen, Noam Dover, Ori Efrat, Eladd Guterman, Danny Kalderon, Shachar Krishner, Einav Mekory, Shavit Munder, Yoav Reches, Lee Schein, Lior Vagima, Orly Wexler, Elad Yehezkel, Gregori Zilber, and Shira Zinger. Each was selected through a process of proposal by AIDA’s Director, Aviva Ben-Sira, and acceptance by each school. All are artists working in Israel.

Since the founding of AIDA in 2003 by Dale & Doug Anderson and Andrea & Charles Bronfman, it has provided artists from Israel with opportunities to exchange ideas, techniques, and creative approaches with a broad and diverse audience. As part of its programs, AIDA has connected artists with galleries and provided scholarships, residencies, and summer teaching positions at prominent craft schools in the United States. It has also supported artist workshops in Israel, found international venues for museum shows, and brought museum curators to Israel to discover its rich art world.