Kultura 2025 Project Grants

For thousands of community members, arts and culture are an important way to connect with Jewish identity and community.

UJA’s Kultura Collective convenes a network of Jewish arts, culture, and heritage organizations—each with the mission of helping Jewish culture transform and enrich lives across Toronto and beyond. To help inspire ambitious large-scale projects, Kultura Collective annually distributes grants towards collaborative project proposals that otherwise wouldn’t be possible, guided by our arts advisory lay committee.

We are proud to announce this year’s grantees—a lineup of creative projects that will engage diverse audiences and meaningfully explore Jewish identity and traditions.

  • Toronto Jewish Film Foundation presents Artist in Residence: Sasson Gabay. This multi-event project will take a deep dive into the life and work of beloved Israeli actor Sasson Gabay. It’s an opportunity to celebrate Jewish life and identity through the work of this renowned performer. It will take place during the 33rd Toronto Jewish Film Festival running from June 5-15. In collaboration with JCCs of Greater Toronto Israeli Engagement (Prosserman JCC, Schwartz/Reisman Centre, Miles Nadal JCC), UJA Israel Engagement, Jewish Immigrant Aid Services Toronto.
  • Ashkenaz Foundation presents Summer Jam 2025. This is the third edition of the Summer Jam concert series, which will run in July and August 2025, on alternating Monday nights in Earl Bales Park. It presents four double-bill concerts pairing a Jewish roots performance with a rock or jam-band tribute act. With free admission, vendors, and kid-friendly activities, it’s a festive atmosphere perfect for the whole family. In collaboration with the Prosserman JCC, the Committee for Yiddish, the Canada-Israel Cultural Foundation, and Magen Boys Entertainment
  • Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company presents the Israeli Plays Series. HGJTC will be bringing in two productions from Israel, each performed in English with one performance entirely in Hebrew. Without an Evil Eye will run from November 1-9, 2025, and How Do We Get Out of Here? will take place from November 15-23, 2025. In collaboration with the Canada Israel Cultural Foundation, Reena Foundation, Jewish Family and Child Service of Greater Toronto, Dani, Canadian Friends of Israel Guide Dogs, and the Consulate of Israel in Toronto and Western Canada. 
  • Toronto Holocaust Museum presents Immigration Installation. This installation will tell the story of Jewish refugees’ experiences and celebrate the variety of immigrant pathways to Canada. Located in the Toronto Holocaust Museum, it will also include public programs and additional learning resources. In collaboration with the Ontario Jewish Archives and Jewish Immigrant Aid Services Toronto.
  • Miles Nadal JCC presents the Jewish Plays Project. The Jewish Plays Project is a program that develops and presents new theatre works through a playwriting competition that explores Jewish identity. The MNjcc is bringing this unique experience to Toronto—culminating in a live play-reading event in the spring of 2026, where the audience can choose the competition’s winner. In collaboration with the Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company, Koffler Arts, and the Jewish Plays Project.
  • Koffler Arts presents The Runner. The Runner is a powerful thriller from Toronto's Human Cargo and winner of the 2019 Dora Mavor Moore Awards for Outstanding Production, Outstanding Direction, and Outstanding New Play. Co-produced by the Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company and Koffler Arts, it ran from April 26-May 4, 2025 at the Meridian Arts Centre.

Stay tuned for these projects—and the Toronto Jewish arts, culture, and heritage scene—by following the Kultura Collective. Click here to find their social accounts and website.