Dear Friends,
Being in Israel for the past 10 days was the most energizing and uplifting experience. The CITYarts Peace Wall is in fact taking shape, and every day more youth and children, Jewish and Arab, are joining the process. The neighborhood residents, mostly Muslim Arabs, are welcoming our artists, Salma and Yoav, with coffee and invitations to join them for lunch. They're encouraging their kids and grandchildren to contribute to the mosaic wall on a daily basis. Especially now that it is summer vacation, friends and their children from Tel-Aviv and the area are coming with their kids. One of our enthusiastic participants from the "Banot Lemaan Hashalom" group, Ruth Federman, an 84-year-old painter, came one day to make sure that indeed the works she inspired some youth to paint in a workshop were being translated into the mosaic on the wall. The next day she came with her grandchildren and their mother, Michal. "I was skeptical in the beginning," she said, "but not anymore." Also joining us were more Banot - Nadine, Ronit, Liora, Sima, as well as Abed, Adnam, Ichlas, Abir, Namar, Hayat, and more from the community. We were filmed by the Israeli TV Channel 10, and a short film (enclosed) was shot and edited by the filmmaker Eidan Gil. Also, you're enjoying the photographs taken by Ira Schraberman.
It's so wonderful to feel the support and encouragement of so many Israeli Jews and Arabs that come to put their mark on the wall, or simply to watch the work being done together. "It's fun to work together with an Arab girl - she wants the same thing as I do. It's a beautiful way to spend the summer vacation, to get to know Arab kids that otherwise we wouldn't meet," said Alexandra from Tel-Aviv.
Following our work on the wall, we proceeded as a group to our collaborators, the Peres Center for Peace, right across the street, for a tour of the building and their activities. Naseem, a neighborhood teen who comes to the wall on a daily basis, offered to do a Facebook page that we update every day. We already have gotten great responses. "It looks like fun," one teen wrote. "Because it IS fun!" replied Yasmin, who participates daily on the wall.
Work proceeds on a daily basis, Monday - Thursday, 10 am - 3 pm. We are hoping for a ribbon cutting ceremony at the end of October.
If you're in Israel and the neighborhood, please take a break from your daily activities and go to enjoy building a wall of peace, in process at Kedem 163 Yafo, piece by piece. The hope is on, and it comes from our kids' voices!
Best,
Tsipi
Ben-Haim
Executive & Artistic
Director, CITYarts, Inc.
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Board of Directors
Carrie H. Cohen,
Chairperson
Jean Kim, Secretary
Bernadette Longford,
Treasurer
Helene Saren
Lawrence
Amnon Bar-Tur
Vera Sung
Irene Minkoff
Kate Gehring
Tsipi Ben-Haim,
Executive & Artistic
Director
Board of Advisors
Sam August
Anna Carbonell
Deborah Dugan
Robert Fisher
Alex Gorlin
Katie Hollander
Stephanie Holmquist
Gisela Keller
Charlotta
Kotik
Nina & Daniel
Libeskind
Miranda McClintic
Laura
Miller
Dr. Lewis Peach
Jeanne
Greenberg
Rohatyn
Lois
Vaisman
Irwin Shlachter
Gustavo Stecher
Staff
Tsipi Ben-Haim,
Executive and Artistic Director
Kim Llerena,
Assistant to the Director
Marc Maffei,
Project Coordinator
Jordan Taler,
Creative Coordinator
Interns
Alison Deutsch
Allison Purves
Sara Saramiento
Lena Mei
Katerine Leonetti
Fay Gibson
Leandra Lehmann
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Yoav with the Maquette
CITYarts Peace Wall across from the Peres Center
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"Thinking globally - acting locally, CITYarts projects build bridges of cultural
understanding and give youth the opportunity to take an active role in shaping
their future".
-- Tsipi
Ben-Haim, CITYarts Executive & Artistic Director
MISSION
CITYarts empowers children and youth by bringing them together with
professional artists to create public art that addresses civic and social
issues, impacts their lives, and transforms their communities.
PROGRAMS
We give our children and youth the opportunity to get actively involved
in their communities, do something to make their world a better place, and
assume responsibility through the creation of murals and mosaics led by
professional artists.
PROJECTS
CITYarts public art projects give youth a stage to ask, "What does peace look
like to me?", "What can I do to reduce the speed of global warming?",
and other urgent and relevant questions, and to address them artistically
through cooperation and creation.
RESULTS
Since 1968, CITYarts has created over 280
projects, transformed over 200 communities,
impacted over 100,000 kids in New York and over 5,000 kids internationally,
collaborated with 500 artists, and
partnered with 300,000 volunteersin
the process, with the consistent sponsorship of corporations, foundations, and
individuals.
Thank you in advance for your generous support. Please donate now!
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