Email: artcomp@bbvic.net
Opening Ceremony:
Lady Anna Cowen AM is once again our distinguished patron of this year’s Competition.  Unlike previous years, in 2020 the competition is being conducted entirely online.  Below is a brief video of the opening ceremony, including the official opening by Glen Eira Mayor, Cr Margaret Esakoff, and announcement of the winning entries in each category.

Catalogue:
The exhibition catalogue is available online.  Each artwork has an entry number. In order to find a specific artwork, start by searching the catalogue.  The centre pages contain a complete list of all the artworks (sorted by age group and then by surname).  You can search by artist's surname, first-name, or artwork title.  The back pages include useful tips for navigating around the galleries.

Virtual galleries: 
Due to the large number of entries (well over 200), photographs of the artworks span three virtual galleries. Please be patient as the galleries may take a while to load.  If this is taking too long, or if you’d prefer to simply sit back and enjoy a guided tour instead, you can watch a pre-recorded video of all the artworks in each gallery. CLICK HERE !

 
​Gallery 2: Ages 14 - 15 (Click Here)

 ​Gallery 3: Ages 16 - 18 (Click Here)

For notes regarding supported web browsers, please scroll down to the bottom of this page.

Sponsors:
B’nai B’rith Victoria gratefully acknowledges our numerous sponsors whose generous financial support makes this competition possible.  They are featured throughout the catalogue.

We congratulate all our talented young artists whose work is on display in this year's exhibition.

Winning Entries
Click on the following link to display a full list of all the winning entries in this year's competition: Link

Background to the Competition:
Morrie Gold was born in 1917 in Warsaw, Poland and immigrated to Australia in 1937.
​
Always a lover of the arts, his work was furthered by his artistic wife, Marie. As an art benefactor he contributed to the National Art Gallery of Victoria. His interest in fostering art in Jewish youth was prompted by watching his grandson's artistic abilities developing. He realised that to encourage the interest and confidence of children in art there must be interaction with the public.
Having been a member of B'nai B'rith for some time, Morrie felt it was the right organisation to fulfil his wish of running an Annual Jewish Youth Art Competition.
Morrie Gold died in May, 1993.  This annual Jewish Youth Art Competition was established through a bequest left by Mr. Gold to B'nai B'rith.
B'nai B'rith has taken up the challenge to organise and hold the exhibition each year.  The competition aims to promote artistic competence and a sense of unity among youth of various sections of the Jewish community.
It is open to Jewish youth between the ages of 11 and 18. Entries are divided into age groups 11 to 13, 14 and 15, 16 to 18.  In each age group there are four categories, namely, painting and drawing, mixed media, digital, and sculpture. A fifth category of photography is open to artists aged 16-18. Students enter from Jewish day schools such as Beth Rivkah Ladies College, Bialik College, Leibler Yavneh College, Mt Scopus Memorial College, the King David School, Yeshivah College as well as students from state schools and other independent schools.
The artworks are judged by a panel of professionals in the arts industry and prizes are offered in all categories and age groups. Numerous prizes will be awarded including an overall prize and a Jewish Theme Prize. Approximately 150 artworks are submitted annually.

Notes regarding supported web browsers:
There are some known issues when using Apple's Safari browser to access the virtual galleries.
These are due to the browser's recent update.
The vendor of the virtual gallery platform is currently working on addressing them.
They recommend using either Chrome or Firefox.
Mobile browsers are not yet fully supported.
Users can download the dataverse app (from Google Play or the App Store), that also allows viewing in VR.

 "The booklet should be printed as a 2-sided document, short-edge binding"

The B'nai B'rith Showcase is a member of, and has accreditation with,
The Association of Eisteddfod Societies of Australia Inc.

This is the only Jewish Showcase in Australia and fulfills a specific need - it does not replicate what any other Jewish organisation is doing.  Jewish musicians are enabled to compete in an officially recognised Showcase; as most are held on Shabbat, this competition acts as a bridge through all streams of Judaism - covering Primary, Secondary and Tertiary levels (ages 8 - 25).
 
Register now and you too can be part of this exciting event!

​Please see the attached files on the right for sign up information or phone the B'nai B'rith Office on ​
​(03) 9523 0888 or email showcase@bbvic.org ​

Our Solo Sections are:
Vocal: Classical
Vocal: Contemporary
Hebrew and Yiddish Vocal
Strings: Classical
Piano: Classical
Piano: Contemporary
​Woodwind and Brass
Guitar

In 2019, B’nai B’rith Vic celebrated its 27th year of holding the Jewish Youth Eisteddfod and
rebranded its name to ‘Showcase: Fostering Jewish Musical Talent’.
Its first chairperson was Rosalie Maller and its second was Esther Gross, who guided the project through until 2012, when ill health forced her retirement. Until then, it remained a special project of B’nai B’rith Unit Re’ut.
Andrew Kolb took over the chair of the Eisteddfod in 2014, and retired at the end of 2019.
During those 6 years, the Eisteddfod grew to 8 Heats namely: Classical Vocal, Contemporary Vocal, Hebrew and Yiddish Vocal, Woodwind, Classical Strings, Guitar, and Classical and Contemporary Piano.
It was also exciting to see a rapid rise in school ensemble participation.
There were performances from Melbourne’s four Jewish day schools: Mount Scopus Memorial College, Bialik College, King David School and Leibler Yavneh College.
Showcase is made possible by the generosity of the many donors and sponsors, including B’nai B’rith Victoria, the Pratt Foundation and Glen Eira City Council.
The Australian Jewish News kept people informed of our activities via advertising and featured articles.
The Rt. Hon. Sir Zelman Cowen was our distinguished patron. After his death, Lady Anna Cowen AM accepted the offer to become our new patron. This year, she will be joined by Mr
Doug Heywood OAM as Joint patron.
2020 is not like any other year that we have previously faced. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to try new options: Zoom meetings and Online Showcase 2020.
Who could have predicted this only 3 months ago? 2020 will certainly be a different type of Showcase without ensemble participation.
On behalf of the Showcase Committee I would like to thank our new chair Judy Firestone.
We cannot do this without community help and support. Together we can be triumphant.

​Andrew Kolb
Chair of Showcase (formerly Eisteddfod) 2014-2019