Bridging Histories: Black-Jewish Dialogues for Peace and Unity is a year-long artist and healer residency with artist and abolitionist Patrisse Cullors that will encourage a deepening of relationships between Black and Jewish community members. The residency will engage a select group of participants representing key communities and constituencies focusing on four critical components: community meals, meditative cultural traditions, reading sessions, and dialogues co-facilitated with the Skirball's Rabbi in Residence, Beau Shapiro; as well as a guided, academic research study led by Dr. Avriel Epps. 

Additionally, as part of her residency, Patrisse will participate in a number of Skirball programs to engage with the general public and continue to create space for dialogue and understanding.

Patrisse Cullors is a New York Times bestselling author, educator, artist, and abolitionist from Los Angeles, CA. Her work has been featured at The Broad, The Geffen Contemporary at
MOCA, Frieze LA, The Hammer Museum, The Fowler, and a host of theaters, galleries, and museums across the globe. Patrisse has won numerous awards for her art and activism.

In 2020 she launched a one-of-a-kind online MFA program at Prescott College. She also launched the Crenshaw Dairy Mart with fellow artists Noé Olivas and Ali Reza Dorriz.

Her current work and practice is focused on “Abolitionist Aesthetics,” a term she has advanced and popularized to help challenge artists and cultural workers to aestheticize abolition. She has recently founded The Center For Art and Abolition- a trailblazing nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering abolitionist artists and leveraging the transformative power of art to catalyze social change. Patrisse’s mission is to invite all of us to grow toward abolition through intergenerational healing work that centers love, collective care, and art.

Rabbi Beaumont Shapiro joined the Skirball Cultural Center in the newly created position of Rabbi in Residence in June 2023.

Previously, Rabbi Shapiro served as Rabbi at Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles, helping to lead the second-largest synagogue in the United States. During his tenure at the temple, Rabbi Shapiro created and oversaw the founding of the Karsh Family Social Service Center, a non-profit, non-religious, co-located, integrated, social-service center that provides critical and accessible social services to the community at large.

His career at Wilshire Boulevard Temple spanned twenty years. For twelve years he served as Rabbi and, before that, as a Rabbinic Intern, Song Leader, and Educator. Prior to Wilshire Boulevard Temple, Rabbi Shapiro was the Youth Director at Temple Israel of Hollywood.

Rabbi Shapiro received his Rabbinic Ordination in 2011 from Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, where he also earned a master’s degree in Hebrew Letters in 2009. Additionally, he holds degrees in Religious Studies and Cinema-Television from the University of Southern California (USC).

Dr. Avriel Epps (she/they), a Black and Jewish Civic Science Postdoctoral Fellow at Cornell University’s CATLab, holds a PhD in Human Development from Harvard University and an SM in Data Science from Harvard’s School of Engineering. 

A scholar and advocate, Avriel’s research focuses on the intersections of algorithmic bias and identity development across racial, gender, and sociopolitical spectra. She aims to understand the complex ways that algorithm design and computer-mediated social expectations—often communicated through artificial intelligence systems—impact the beliefs, behaviors, and health of developing humans. As co-founder of AI4Abolition, she is dedicated to building collective power with and around AI through open-source tools and AI literacy programs in marginalized communities. 

Avriel has been recognized and supported by The Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Roddenberry Foundation, and National Center on Race and Digital Justice, among many others. 

Her work is featured in both scientific journals and popular outlets, including The Atlantic and the Emmy-nominated PBS documentary "TikTok, Boom." She speaks to an audience of over 70,000 followers on her Instagram and TikTok, with short-form videos garnering over 25 million views. She is the author of the forthcoming A Kids Book About AI Bias.