Painting of the Carmel Center, Mossawa's headquarters by Luda Bernstein.
As part of the Mossawa Center’s solidarity project to create an innovative, inclusive, diverse approach that aims to replace an outdated and exclusionary peace camp, an art exhibit by the Russian-speaking population was created. The Mossawa Center’s constant efforts to reach out to the systematically and continuously neglected communities in Israel to establish and renew vital connections is an undertaking that has yielded many prosperous and fruitful achievements. Such achievements spread the brand of solidarity and mutual understanding within the HAMER communities,( Haredi community (ultra-Orthodox Jews), Arabs, the Mizrahi Jewish community, the Ethiopian Jewish community, and Russian-speaking communities in Israel.
The art exhibition is a product of this inclusive collaboration. Titled A Tour in Haifa, it features paintings by Russian-speaking artists of the iconic mixed neighborhood, Wadi An-Nasnas in Haifa. Wadi An-Nasnas has a rich and profound history in the Palestinian-Arab community.
The process of making this art allowed for a dialogue between the neighborhood residents and the artists where they were able to learn more about each other and shift dynamics and stereotypes. The artists noted the importance of the Arab-speaking population to the landscape of Israel and were excited to begin to interact through their work.
The art exhibition opened on December 23rd and takes place in the Carmel Center. The exhibition included paintings by renowned Russian-Speaking artists, such as Slava Ilyayev, Luda Bernstein, and Dara Ilyayev.
The exhibition was open to the masses and free of charge to encourage and promote the spread of the message of art and solidarity.