FOJAM — Lior Albeck-Ripka and Jesse Lubitz | Supplied

Lior Albeck-Ripka and Jesse Lubitz to Step Down as Directors of Festival of Jewish Arts and Music

March 17, 2023

Lior Albeck-Ripka and Jesse Lubitz are to step down as directors of FOJAM (Festival of Jewish Arts and Music). The two have led the organisation as artistic director and CEO, respectively, since 2018, taking over from Deborah Conway AM and Willy Zygier.

The news was announced in a statement by FOJAM on Thursday, 16th March. “From all of us at FOJAM, we extend to Jesse and Lior a resounding thank you for emboldening us and our community to think big, create bigger, and to remain curious,” the statement read.

Carole King: ‘So Far Away’

“Lior and Jesse – you will be dearly missed,” the statement continued. “We wish you behatzlacha (good luck, lit. in success) for your future endeavours. We know you will bring to the next part of your professional journeys the same energy, charisma and vision you have brought to FOJAM over the past five years.”

FOJAM was created out of the festival Shir Madness, which ran from 2015 to 2018 across Sydney and Melbourne, evolving into a wide-ranging organisation devoted to presenting music and art from Jewish culture.

Albeck-Ripka and Lubitz’s final hurrah as directors will be the upcoming Carole King tribute show, featuring acts like Harry James Angus, Emily Lubitz, Jem Cassar-Daley, and more. The show will land at the Memo Music Hall on Wednesday, 22 March and Thursday, 23rd March, and also the Palais-Hepburn in Hepburn Springs on Friday, 24th March. See all the details below.