ABOUT

Why:

LunArt believes that Third Sector programs for a shared society and social justice in Israel should include Affirmative Action in admission to academic art programs. Furthermore, it is our credo that the medium of visual arts is a highly effective educational tool for promoting tolerance, open mindedness and fostering cross-cultural discourse.

How:

LunArt will initiate and support art based cross-cultural projects in partnership with other organizations involved in Arab-Jewish shared society projects. In addition to its own seed money, LunArt will seek funding for its programs by applying for grants from private foundations and organizing an annual benefit art sale of works donated by prominent and emerging Arab and Jewish Israeli artists.

What have we done so far:

In its first seven years of operation, LunArt initiated and co-funded a tuition-free pre-academic preparatory stop gap course (מכינה קדם אקדמית) for gifted Arab Israeli high school graduates aspiring for admission to academic programs in Art, Film, Photography, Architecture and Fashion Design but lacking the necessary educational, financial and social support required for entry. Out of 78 students who graduated this course, held at Minshar Art School in Tel Aviv and Oranim College of Education in the Lower Galilee, 56 were admitted to academic art and design programs in Israel. LunArt considers those students who completed the program without academic admission as potential “art ambassadors” in their communities.

LunArt was also instrumental in bringing an Arab Jewish Photography exhibition (titled “Jaffa Mosaic”) to the United States by partnering with the Inter Agency Task Force on Arab Israeli Issues (“IATF”) of which LunArt is an active member (www.iataskforce.org).

In addition, LunArt has recently sponsored and produced two short video films posted on the social online media (Vimeo) about the Jaffa Salon for Palestinian Art and the Jaffa Mosaic Exhibition. Please feel free to view those videos by clicking on our Projects tab.

Our plans for 2015-16:

LunArt Workshops for Tolerance via Guided Visual Art Classes in Isreali High Schools

On March 15, 2015, LunArt submitted to the President of Israel, a proposal for developing of a guided visual arts course that aims at promoting tolerance and empathy towards gentile Israelis by engaging students in discussions of images of the “others” living among us.

LunArt Pre-College Art Prep Course in the Galilee:

LunArt continued sponsoring the pre-academic art education “incubator” at Oranim College of Education, completing its second year of operation in 2015. A study scholarships was awarded to one of the graduates that was admitted to academic level art studies at Oranim. After completion of a its first five year of this educational pilot in the center and north of the country, LunArt is planning to continue with a similar project by opening a pre-college art prep course for Bedouins at the Kaye College School of Art in Beersheba.

Art Residency Programs sponsored by LunArt :

LunArt funded a 3 week residency stay for two Arab-Israeli female artists – Fatma Shanan and Nisreen Najjar, at the HomeBase residency program in Jerusalem. This residency took place in 2015.

Workshop focusing on Art in East Jerusalem

This workshop aiming at bringing together artists, curators and art students from East and West Jerusalem is co-sponsored by Manofim, HomeBase Jerusalem and LunArt Fund with the help of a matching grant from the Leichtag Foundation. It is is planned for October 2016.