Vox Tablet

The inaugural class of fellows at the American Academy in Jerusalem was announced last month by the Foundation for Jewish Culture, which will host the four selected American artists while they develop new work in the dynamically, culturally rich city. The project is the brainchild of Elise Bernhardt, the foundation’s president, who modeled it on the American Academies in Rome and Berlin (each is a separate entity, with no formal ties). The American Academy in Jerusalem, a nine-week residency, also aims to strengthen ties between artists and cultural institutions in the United States and Israel. Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry talked about the program with Bernhardt, discussing how the fellows were selected and whether Jerusalem can compete with European cities as a cultural capital. Ivry also spoke to the four fellows, who are headed to Jerusalem in October: urban planner David Karnovsky, visual artist