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.
