Yehudith Grinshpan

Yehudith Grinshpan was born in 1933 in Poland.

Yehudith moved to Tel Aviv with her family at age 2½. She lived for several years in Kibbutz Sasa and then returned to Tel Aviv, where she lived and worked to this day. She studied preschool teaching at the Kibbutzim College of Education but did not pursue this profession. In 1960, she created her first stage work for Cameri Theater. Since then, she continued her independent learning, and later studied stage design at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford on a scholarship provided by the America-Israel Cultural Foundation, as well as trained in Italy with Donato Sartori, one of the world’s leading mask artists.

Grinshpan designed masks, puppets, and props for theater, dance and TV productions. Among others, she worked with Sarah Levi-Tanai, Ilana Cohen, Daniela Michaeli, Rami Be’er, Devorah Bertonov, Yoram Boker, Michael Alfreds, Hanoch Levin, Yosef (“Pepo”) Milo, and Shaike Ophir. She also designed the puppets for popular Israeli Educational TV programs.

For Batsheva, Grinshpan designed masks and props for many dances, including Lisztdelirium and Dreams (1978), Devil People (1981), Pulcinella (1982), Common Prayer (1983) and Lelio (1987). In 1991, she designed the set, costumes and masks for Batsheva Ensemble’s Love of the Seven Dolls.
In addition to stage designs, Grinshpan presents in exhibitions in Israel and worldwide, teaches in the Kibbutzim College of Education and offers workshops and lectures on masks to the general public.