YIVO's 2022 Roundup

We are most grateful to our members and supporters, whose generous financial support ensured that YIVO was able to continue in its mission to provide enriching content to our global audience. Here are a few highlights:

Education at YIVO

YIVO continued to see a strong interest in all things Yiddish. Over 1,200 students from 22 countries signed up for 102 classes taught by our global faculty. For the first time ever, the Uriel Weinreich Summer Program took place both in person and online, enabling 76 students from 23 states and 11 countries around the world to participate.

Public Programs

This past year, we hosted 75 public programs, which had nearly 24,000 registrations from 60 countries throughout the year. Taking place in person and on Zoom, these programs covered a range of Jewish life, history, and culture including:

• Continuing Evolution: Yiddish Folksong Today, the largest music festival of its kind featuring 4 concerts, 12 premieres of newly-commissioned classical works, and over 30 musicians;
• Ver vet vlabyn? (Who Will Remain?), the New York premiere screening of an award-winning documentary about the life and survival of Yiddish poet Avrom Sutzkever;
• The Sound Archives at 40: A Celebration, an insider look at the collections, projects, and stories of the YIVO Sound Archives; and
• The Shuttering of Memorial, A Russian Human Rights Group, a conversation about Memorial, the human rights group founded to document and published crimes in the Soviet regime before being ordered to shut down by two Russian courts.

EXHIBITIONS

In May, we mounted our first on site exhibition since COVID began, Am Yisrael High: The Story of Jews and Cannabis. The exhibition, which opened to a full house, delves into the many connections of Jews to cannabis – religious and spiritual, historical, scientific, and more.

YIVO ARCHIVES AND LIBRARY

In 2022, approximately 715,000 pages of archival materials were made available online, over 3,300 in-person requests to view YIVO materials were submitted and fulfilled, more than 20,000 free reference photos were taken, and about 250,000 visits to our digital resources were made. YIVO also launched How to Do Research at YIVO, a series in which YIVO archivist Hallel Yadin provides overviews and how to guides for newcomers and helps researchers access the collections more easily. Sessions have touched on how to use YIVO's databases effectively, how an archive differs from a library, key terminologies associated with archives and libraries, and how to access YIVO’s digitized holdings.

YIVO Store

This year, we opened YIVO’s first online store. The store sells items inspired by our collections and online classes, books featured in our public programs, and more. A number of items have already sold out.

2023 promises to be another exciting year as we continue developing landmark projects, diverse public programs, and unique educational initiatives. Join or renew your membership today!