Jerusalem International Fellows Inaugurates Cultural Residency Program in Eastern and Western Jerusalem

JERUSALEM (Press Release) — Four artists, from Brazil, India, Mexico, and the United States will participate in the Jerusalem International Fellows  program, a 10-week residency for leading performing artists, choreographers, visual artists, and urban planners from around the world, who wish to collaborate with independent artists, ensembles, and cultural institutions in eastern and western Jerusalem.

The program, supported by individuals and foundations, includes a week of multi-layered city orientation, eight weeks of creative development with Jerusalem-based host organizations, and a final week of post-project evaluation, meetings, and tours.

The public session introducing the Fellows at the beginning of their visit on March 13 and a Work in Progress presentation at the end will provide an opportunity for the broad Jerusalem public to get to know the artists. Weekly salons will provide additional opportunities for informal discussions with artists, intellectuals, activists, cultural managers, and policy makers.

The goals of the program are to be a catalyst for interdisciplinary, cross-genre, cross border conversations through creative collaboration; to expose and connect the burgeoning Jerusalem cultural ecosystem to a world-wide creative network; for Fellows to be invited to return to Jerusalem; and for Fellows to return home with a deep and nuanced perspective on the city.

“Jerusalem is an international city – a crossroads for diverse people over thousands of years.  It is also a cauldron of creative activity, often taking place against great odds. Bringing international attention to this vital cultural ecosystem in Jerusalem, providing Jerusalem’s creators connections to a global audience. The intensive interactions between these world class artists and Jerusalem’s cultural community will be a catalyst for long lasting relationships between Fellows and creative leaders in Jerusalem, both East and West,” said Elise Bernhardt, founder and Director of Jerusalem International Fellows.

Participants 

Sofia Borges, Visual Artist, São Paulo, Brazil. Host: Idbaa School of the Arts, the first Palestinian visual and performing arts high school in the Sheikh Jarrah, eastern Jerusalem.

Vibha Galhotra, Conceptual Artist, New Delhi, India. Host: Muslala, a non-profit organization established in 2009 by artists, residents, and community activists of the Muslala neighborhood in Jerusalem. Based in the Clal Building, it runs art exhibitions, urban “art-tracks,” guided tours, and art workshops.

Claudia Lavista, Dance – Contemporary Dance – Choreographer/Dancer/Professor, Mazatlán, México. Host: c.a.t.a.m.o.n Dance Group, a performance organization founded in 2012 by Elad Schechter. Its main mission is to present the human body in Jerusalem’s public spaces and to create and maintain an ongoing dialogue with the Jerusalem audience in all its diversity.

Anna Lublina, Interdisciplinary Performance, New York, USA. Host: Bloomfield Science Museum, a cultural and educational institution that presents interactive exhibits on subjects of science and technology and contextualizes these exhibits through a wide range of educational activities.

Jerusalem International Fellows has been made possible by the following generous supporters: Russell Berrie Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Jerusalem Foundation Innovation Fund, Leichtag Foundation, Schusterman Family Foundation, Anita and Marc Abramowitz, Naomi Caspe, Agnes Gund, David Karnovsky, Lynn Schneider, Josh Sirefman, Roselyn Swig, Malcolm Thomson, and many other generous individuals.

*

Preceding provided by Jerusalem International Fellows