ARTIST + JEW
Created by Alex Salsberg
ARE YOU A JEWISH ARTIST
OR AN ARTIST WHO’S JEWISH?
Season 1 of this effervescent new animated series asks 4 unique artists this question as the slightly off-putting jumping off point for raw and lovely conversations about creativity, identity, audience, intention, fear, grief, love and so much more.
EPISODE 1: LILY HENLEY
Musician Lily Henley deeply hopes to find something alive in the endangered language of Ladino, all while asking herself if it’s okay to update old Ladino songs. Lily is Sephardic, a type of Jew that’s often invisible to American non-Jews and sometimes exoticized by American Jews. Through irresistible folk music, Lily shares her culture to help us fall in love with our own.
Created by Alex Salsberg
Featuring Lily Henley - Website - Instagram
Character Animation by Olivia Sciulli + Sam Silvers
Backgrounds by R. Lee
Sound Effects + Theme Music by Adam J Salsberg
Song: “Oras Dezaoradas” - Lily Henley, Duncan Wickel, Haggai Cohen-Milo (Courtesy of Lily Henley)
Special Thanks: Rekha Murthy, Sarah Lefton, Janine Okmin, Rebecca Friedman, Rick Zieff, Mia Schon, Digital Storytellers Lab fellows.
EPISODE 2: EZRA EDMOND
Animation Producer Ezra Edmond is hesitant to create work about his own life and identity. When he does, he wrestles with how to do it in a way that doesn’t feel pandering or exploitative. In touring with his short film “Blewish,” about his experience growing up Black and Jewish, he is finding that audiences of all backgrounds can genuinely connect with his experiences through their own emotional lenses.
Created by Alex Salsberg
Featuring Ezra Edmond - Website - Instagram
Character Animation by Olivia Sciulli + Sam Silvers
Backgrounds by R. Lee
3D Animation by Nick Canton
Sound Effects + Theme Music by Adam J Salsberg
Footage From “Blewish” Courtesy of Ezra Edmond
Special Thanks: Rekha Murthy, Sarah Lefton, Janine Okmin, Rebecca Friedman, Rick Zieff, Mia Schon, Digital Storytellers Lab fellows.
ABOUT ALEX SALSBERG
Alex Salsberg is an animator and interviewer who is always looking for exciting new ways to combine the two.
As an indie animation director, Alex loves telling stories through funny, weird and heartfelt cartoons, and has worked on projects for Billy Ray Cyrus, Utkarsh Ambudkar, MTV, Nickelodeon and WGBH.
As an interviewer, he is the host of "I Loved This Conversation," a podcast about people living creative lives, and he recently completed the short film “Of The Heart,” featuring conversations between intergenerational friends.
2 EPISODES LEFT IN SEASON 1
Copyright 2025 PokeGravy Studios
Artist + Jew was developed with support from the Jewish Writer’s Initiative Digital Storytellers Lab