Lila's intent is to create a communicative community through visual images. There is an old Sanskrit word, Lila (Leela), which means play. Richer than our word, it means divine play, the play of creation and destruction and re-creation, the folding and unfolding of the cosmos. Lila, free and deep, is both delight and enjoyment of this moment, and the play of God. It also means love. Lila may be th
e simplest thing there is---spontaneous, childish, disarming. But as we grow and experience the complexities of life, it may also be the most difficult and hard won achievement imaginable, and its coming to fruition is a kind of homecoming to our true selves.
- Stephen Nachmanovitch
Lauren Berkley, Founder and Curator
Lauren Berkley, founder of The Lila Project, is also a graduate student of bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. Prior to resuming her studies, Lauren served as an Associate at Blue Spruce Productions, a diversified arts equity fund that has produced more than 20 Broadway and West End shows garnering critical acclaim with over 100 nominations and awards. Lauren has worked and interned for designers Adrienne Landau and Loeffler Randall, The Jewish Museum, Conde Nast Publications (SELF Magazine), Brant Publications (Art in America) and as a paralegal in intellectual property and real estate law. Lauren is a certified yoga teacher and member of SAG-AFTRA. Lauren graduated with honors from New York University in 2009 and has completed coursework at The Barnes Foundation, Lehigh University, Fashion Institute of Technology and Parsons School of Design. Lauren has completed two Jewish learning fellowships at NYU and returned to her alma mater to guest lecture on art and economics. Lauren has served on advisory councils of various organizations including Shavei Israel's The Tefillin Project and Grameen America's Young Professionals Committee. She co-founded the Live With Lyme foundation and has done philanthropic work in Nicaragua. Philippe Treuille, Artistic Development
Philippe Treuille, artist and composer, studied at the Juilliard School with Dr. Christopher Rouse and received a BA in History and a Bachelor of Music in composition from Northwestern in 2008. Philippe has performed his compositions at The Cell, the Rubin Museum of Art, MoMA PS1 and Ana Tzarev Gallery. Working concurrently with The Lila Project, Philippe founded The Blue Cat Project which focuses on the curation of musical installations and performances.
