Eyad Baba, “Gaza”, Palestine, 2009, on display as part of the exhibition “HomeLessHome” in 2010 at the Museum on the Seam. All rights reserved. Only
a 15 minutes walk through the dusty streets of Jerusalem takes us
from Al Ma’mal foundation in the east,
to the Museum on the Seam in the west
of the city; a walk through the monotone ochre coloured streets,
framed by street sellers and a bustling highway. Located in the heart
of the conflict, the two art organisations take a stance and a
position from within: being based in Jerusalem around the old city
centre, Al Ma’mal and the Museum on the Seam shed light on the
everyday friction between Palestine and Israel, speaking up through
art.
It
is this short 15 minutes walk which lets us cross
borders: through
religions ; through
politics; through
history and society. Crossing a
land that has been claimed by
Muslims, Jews and Christians over the course of time, crossing from
east to west, between
two exceptional art organizations.
Both art foundations provide a space for criticism
The
locations
of both art organizations are no coincidence, but
a meaningful position. Both are
based on the lines of a deeply fractured society; The socio-political
Museum on the Seam is binding physical borders, located in a former
army outpost which once marked the frontier between Israel and
Jordan, today’s green line. The art foundation Al Ma’mal is
located within the old city of Jerusalem, where Christians, Muslims
and Jews hold some of their most holy sites – the Temple Mount, the
Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
The
Museum on the Seam is focusing on socio-political topics, some of
them are to be found on the edge of Israel’s condition and the art
foundation Al Ma’mal is forming a persistent and stable
representation of Palestinian art in Jerusalem. Both
art foundations provide a space for criticism,
in the centre of Jerusalem and its society.
Museum on the Seam’s debris facade. All rights reserved.The
non-profit organization Al Ma’mal, founded in 1998 by a group of
artists, architects and activists, supports
the BDS (Boycott, Divestment
and Sanctions) campaign.
By boycotting the Israeli state and its institutions, Al Ma’mal is
aiming to stop international support for Israel’s position towards
Palestine. “Governmental funding is impossible. Even if we would
accept Israeli support, the right-winged government would prohibit
and shut us down immediately” reflects Aline Khoury, program
coordinator of Al Ma’mal.
These
financial limits shaped the art organization to what it is: a space
that is both created by and
creating a community. By
deriving revenues through organizing workshops with educational
outreach, residencies, concerts, and other cultural events, it offers
a platform in the neighbourhood for people to meet, learn and
re-connect. The name of the organization is honouring the deeply
interwoven neighbourhood, as it is unchanged since the location used
to be a tile factory, the soul of the quarter.
Al
Ma’mal is a pillar of the art scene in East-Jerusalem, defending a
cultural life that mainly has moved to Ramallah. Its curation is a
vital proof of Palestinian existence, setting a sign beyond the
political news, being acknowledged for its quality and engagement in
art circles by renowned platforms, such as E-Flux,
artsy
and ArtAsiaPacific.
Al Ma’mal is a pillar of the art scene in East-Jerusalem, defending a cultural life that mainly has moved to Ramallah
The
foundation´s mission is to reanimate Palestinian presence through
exhibiting Palestinian art in the heart of Jerusalem. Encouraging
especially young Palestinian artists, Al Ma’mal is trying to shed
light on the conflict by putting
Palestinian artists back into the discourse, while staying
independent.
As much as privatised institutions have the freedom to express opinions more freely than government-led institutions, they are fully relying on the courtesy of the donors and commonly struggle for funds. Al Ma’mal refuses any Israeli funding and thus is constantly applying for new funds and as the German Holztbrinck family cut their support, also the Museum on the Seam finds itself in an exceptional financial drought. Despite their variation, the two outstanding and outspoken institutions face similar monetary hardships, abstaining from any financial support from the Israeli state.
The
building of the Museum on the Seam, right next to the light rail that
marks the invisible border between East and West Jerusalem, appears
like an old villa, yet disturbingly different: A huge crater hollows
out half the façade, windows are bricked up, parts of the building
look like debris. A feeling of instability arises when passing
through the door directly underneath a balcony, that is marked by
bullet holes. It strikes one as a surprise, to step into a perfectly
clean exhibition, thereafter. The contradicting aesthetics of the
building can itself be understood as a symbol for society’s
fraction, in a country where appearance is always maintained.
The
first series of exhibitions at the Museum on the Seam started between
2005 and 2008, looking at human rights issues. The series tackled the
vulnerable point of Israel´s ill condition, drawing the blurring
line between normal and abnormal situations. It crystallized what
life in Israel is about: when a temporary emergency situation becomes
daily reality, when this state of emergency gets accepted by the
silent majority and violence establishes itself as an unaltered
part of life.
After
opening the museum in 1983, it
has been generously funded by the German Holzbrinck family and
therefore had the means and, over the years, also gained the
reputation to invite some of the most important contemporary artists,
internationally, such as Wim Wenders or Anselm von Kiefer, as well as
nationally like Yael Bartana, Sliman
Mansour,
Moshe Gershuni or Fouad Agbaria.
The curation gives equal space to international as well as to
Israeli and Palestinian artists,
overcoming political differences and reconciling politically
determined oppositions. International papers such as Spiegel,
CNN,
The
New York Times honoured the Museum on the Seam for its cultural
value and its outstanding exhibitions.
“We had exhibitions
which had to do with every aspect of the real topics of our society.
The conflict is so huge but at the time we never dealt with it.”
explains
Raphi Edgar, curator of the Museum
of the Seam.
The
significance of both these art
institutions is not solely articulated through the acclaim they
receive in art circles, but by
offering a free and open channel to talk about a polarised conflict,
something that is rarely found.
Whereas mainstream
media are
often strongly biased and rarely
independent, art has the
ability to approach
uncomfortable topics in a more sublime manner and
with more variety. The
ambivalence of the visual language of art thematises and combines
issues in such a sophisticated way, that it may speak louder than
verbal communication. “Art is a language which is international and
which can be perceived by all nationalities and backgrounds” finds
David
Amichai, Press Manager of the museum.
The exhibitions oftentimes serve as amplifiers to the voices in society, that politicians and mass media knowingly mute and neglect.
The
curation of the two institutions, Al Ma’mal and the Museum on the
Seam, managed to establish platforms for artists and topics that are
preferred to be annihilated
by the state institutions. The exhibitions oftentimes serve as
amplifiers to the voices in society, that politicians and mass media
knowingly mute and neglect.
In
the end, the function of both art institutions is not only to convey
issues through the correlation between ideology and art. Al Ma’mal
and the Museum on the Seam enliven art as communicator without
boundaries and, thus, construct an organ of freedom of speech at a
point where politicians
fail. With the increasing move
to the right especially with the current Israeli
government which is
suppressing dialogue
between and within frontiers, it is the language of art that
can provide a
space for the formation of
opinions.
Art in this context does
not only reflect reality but constructs a possible
world. Amid
a polarising conflict, it offers
access beyond political stigmatization to the perspectives and voices
of the people, and thus to another truth.
As
much as the ideal of arts´ ability to mediate and communicate
kindles hope, in fact the monetary struggle has been hitting these
institutions more and more in recent years. Above all,
the wounds of the conflict seem to be ripped open in this
border-wasteland of Jerusalem more
than anywhere else in the
country. As much as peace is
sought after, the urgency for
equal rights prevails and is always
propagated by the two
institutions, Al Ma’mal and the Museum on the Seam.
It’s
a 15 minutes walk that makes us realize how far society is still
fractured in today’s Jerusalem.