Yiddish New York 2025 – Call for Proposals
(Lectures & Instrumental Tracks)
View the Call for Proposal in pdf form HERE.
We are excited to announce our first Call for Proposals for the Lecture and Instrumental Tracks at Yiddish New York 2025!
About Yiddish New York: Yiddish New York (YNY), the nation’s largest workshop/festival celebrating Yiddish language, music, and culture is proud to announce its return for its 11th year, taking place from Saturday evening, December 20th to Thursday, December 25th, 2025. The 2025 festival will be held in a hybrid format, with programs presented online as well as on-site at the Hebrew Union College near Washington Square Park.
Programs are curated by a team of renowned Yiddish culture community organizers and aim to reflect the diversity of interests in the Yiddish cultural community.
About the Call for Proposals: For the first time, the Yiddish New York Lectures and Instrumental Programs are inviting proposals for workshops, talks, and classes for the 2025 YNY Program.
We invite proposals in the following categories:
Lecture on Yiddish Culture Topics
Yiddish culture themes include, but are not limited to literature, folklore, folklife, popular art, material culture, cultural history, film, food, and music.
Lectures in Yiddish are encouraged.
Lectures are intended for a culturally informed, but non-specialist audience.
Recommended Formats:
- Single Session conducted in a hybrid format (recommended 60 minute lecture/talk and 15 minute discussion/Q&A) presented in English or Yiddish
- 2, 3 or 4 Part Lecture Series conducted in a hybrid format (75 minutes each, as either a lecture model as above or other presentation/workshop experience) presented in English or Yiddish
- Other formats can be proposed, but priority will be given to the above formats.
Instrumental Workshop Proposals
Priority will be given to Instrumental Workshops Proposals that are accessible to instrumentalists of all skill levels, however proposals specifically targeting beginner, intermediate, or advanced players are also welcome.
Interdisciplinary proposals (instrumental programs that are also appealing to dancers, singers, linguists, actors, and more) are encouraged.
Individual and co-taught (up to two teachers) proposals will be accepted.
Recommended Formats:
- Single Session (75 minutes) Intended for On-Site Participants Only
- 4 Part Series (75 minutes each) Intended for On-Site Participants Only
- 4 Part Series (75 minutes each) Intended for Online Participants Only
- Other formats can be proposed, but priority will be given to the above formats.
PLEASE NOTE:
- The intent of this Call for Proposals is to encourage Yiddish Culture Leaders, Artists, Workers, Scholars, and Educators of any experience, backgrounds, and expertise to share their ideas with the YNY Curators. The Curators may contact the proposing teacher to suggest adaptations to compliment other programs happening at the festival. The Curators may recommend partnerships between veteran teachers and individuals new to the YNY faculty.
- Submission to the Call for Proposals does not guarantee selection for YNY 2025. YNY has a small budget and team, so we will not be able to accept all the submitted proposals.
- If selected to present at YNY 2025, you will receive an honorarium and Faculty Family Passes to the festival. Travel funds are not provided. The full honorarium rate for each applicant will be provided (dependent on the number of presentations/workshops) upon invitation to YNY in early July.
- Those who would be traveling from outside the United States are responsible for securing their own visa.
Deadline and Important Dates:
May 1, 2025 – Public Call for Proposals Announced
June 1, 2025 – Public Call for Proposal Submissions Due
July 15, 2025 – Official Notifications Sent
September 15, 2025 – Program Announcement
December 20-25, 2025 – Yiddish New York at Hebrew Union College, New York City, NY
Required Materials for Proposal Submission
- Name, Email, Phone Number of Teacher
- One Paragraph Bio
- Headshot for Promotion
- Title of Proposed Lecture/Workshop
- 3-5 Sentence Description for Program
- Anticipated Technical or Room Requirements
- Contact Information for Co-Teacher (optional)
- Other image for Promotion (optional)
- Additional Information (optional)
SUBMITTING YOUR PROPOSAL
To submit a proposal to the LECTURE Track, click HERE.
To submit a proposal to the INSTRUMENTAL Track, click HERE.
Questions? Contact Clara at ynycoordinator@gmail.com.