User:Eofir2013/Museum on the Seam

=Museum on the Seam=



The Museum on the Seam is a socio-political contemporary art museum, the first of its kind. Through the various exhibitions it displays, the museum raises controversial social issues that stand at the center of public opinion for discussion. In the spirit of human rights and civic duties, it is committed to bring social and moral change in face of a complex and conflict-ridden reality. At the center of the changing exhibitions at the Museum stand the national, ethnic and economic seam lines in their local and universal contexts.

The museum was initiated and established by Raphie Etgar who serves as its Artistic Director, with the generous support of the von Holtzbrinck family of Germany, through the Jerusalem Foundation and was chosen by the New York Times as one of the leading 29 art venues around the globe.

The various exhibitions displayed at the museum are participated by some of today's leading artists such as: Anselm Kiefer, Bruce Nauman, Bill Viola, Christian Boltanski, Sophie Calle, Wim Wenders, Thomas Hirschhorn, Gilbert & George, Paul McCarthy, Barbara Kruger, Jenny Holzer, Douglas Gordon, William Kentridge, Santiago Sierra, Alfredo Jaar, Edward Burtynsky, Yael Bartana, Michal Rovner, Dani Karavan, Moshe Gershuni, Micha Ullman, Joshua Neustein, Larry Abramson, Sigalit Landau, Tsibi Geva, Menashe Kadishman, Miki Kratsman, Gilad Ophir, Michal Na'aman and many others.

=The Museum's Building= The museum is located in a neo-classical building; built by Christian Arab Architect Anton Barmki in 1932. During the years Jerusalem was divided (1948-1967), the house was turned into an Israeli military outpost- situated on the border between Israel and Jordan overlooking the Mandelbaum Gate, which served as the only passage between the two parts of the divided city at the time. During the battles of the 1967 War, the house suffered hits from shells and bullets which left their marks on the building and are apparent to this day. In the year 1981 the house was renovated and turned into an historical museum that commemorated the reunification of the city. In the year 1999, in the spirit of the Oslo Accords and the attempts to bring peace to the region, the building underwent change and a new permanent exhibition, calling for tolerance and mutual understating between people in the region, was displayed.

Since 2005, the building serves as a home to the Museum on the Seam- a Socio Political Contemporary Art Museum. The turbulent history of the building serves as silent testimony to the political changes that Jerusalem and the whole country of Israel underwent; from its function as a private residence of a Palestinian family, through its usage as an Israeli army outpost, and currently as a socio political museum committed to create a dialogue and build bridges of understanding in this very place.

Exhibitions

 * 2005- DEAD END which dealt with the violence within Israeli society.
 * 2006- EQUAL AND LESS EQUAL that focused on the issues of discrimination exploitation and humiliation.
 * 2007- BARE LIFE about the personal and public consequences of a prolong state of emergency that becomes legitimized;
 * 2008- HEARTQUAKE that examined the central role of anxiety in human interactions with their surroundings, thus examining the dynamics of social and political interactions.
 * 2009- NATURE NATION that dealt with the complexity of encounters between humans with their natural environment.
 * 2010- THE RIGHT TO PROTEST about the obligation that comes with the privilege of protest.
 * 2011- WEST END about the clash of civilizations between Islam and the west and the possible consequences.
 * 2012- BEYOND MEMORY faces the viewers with works of art that expose images delved from the archives of repression and denial of fears and anxieties from our past experiences, in an attempt to learn from them how to avoid repeating past mistakes.
 * 2013- FLESH & BlOOD that calls upon us to look at flesh and blood as a fabric that connects all living beings to one family and to treat it with respect and compassion.
 * 2013- EVERYONE CARRIES A ROOM INSIDE that examines loneliness as a major contemporary phenomenon, gaining more and more impact on people’s lives.

In 2000 Museum on the Seam produces, as an initiative by Raphie Etgar, the exhibition COEXISTANCE : an international project that incorporates many leading poster designers from around the globe. The project was displayed in over 35 cities in different continents and called for mutual understanding between fellow nations and religions. Its global Journey was endorsed and supported by world leaders and thinkers.

=Further Reading=


 * Deadend (editors: Romi Shapira, Hila Tsabari and Hadas Zohar), Museum on the Seam, 2005.
 * Bare Life (editor: Roy Brand), Museum on the Seam, 2007.
 * HeartQuake (editor: Nitzan Rothem), Museum on the Seam, 2008.
 * Nature Nation (editor: Einat Manof), Museum on the Seam, 2009.
 * HomeLessHome (editor: Ariella Azoulay), Museum on the Seam, 2010.
 * The Right to Protest (editor: Avi Katzman), Museum on the Seam, 2010.
 * West End (editor: Uriya Shavit), Museum on the Seam, 2011.
 * Beyond Memory (editor: Zvi Carmeli), Museum on the Seam, 2012.
 * Flesh & Blood (editor: Ariel Tsovel), Museum on the Seam, 2013.
 * Everyone Carries a Room Inside (editor: Einat Ofir), Museum on the Seam, 2013.

=External links=


 * Official Website
 * Museum on the Seam's online shop
 * Coexistence Exhibition
 * Museum on the Seam on Youtube
 * Museum on the Seam- One of Israel's 10 Best Museums, CNN, 29 January 2013.
 * Art Can Help to Prevent Future Catastrophes, Bloomberg TV, 7 May 2012.
 * Saudi Artist Targeted Over Jerusalem, The Art Newspaper, 9 November 2011.
 * Israeli Museum Showing Muslim-World Artists, Yahoo News, 2 August 2011.
 * A Museum with Edge, The Jerusalem Post, 17 July 2011.
 * 10 Unique Museums Off the Beaten Path, National Geographic, 11 May 2010.
 * Coexistance Exhibition is Displayed in the Quad Cities, 31 August 2007.
 * Coexistence: Political Art in Auckland's Britomart, Thread-NZ: Culture Latestnews.
 * No Boundaries - "Coexistence: The Art of Living Together" Merges Art, Education, & Controversy, River Cities' Reader, 15 August 2007.
 * The Hartford Hosts COEXISTENCE on Asylum Hill: Internationally Acclaimed Exhibition Comes to Insurer's World Headquarters in Connecticut, The Corporate Social Responsibility Newswire, 11 April 2007.
 * The Cycle that Needs to be Broken, Scoop Culture, 31 January 2006.
 * Artists Encourage Coexistence Through Art Near Old Main, Arizona Daily Wildcat, 3 February 2005.
 * Artists, Writers Call for 'Coexistence' around the World,  Business Wire, 20 September 2004.
 * 'Coexistence' Exhibit Defaced, St. Petersburg Times, 15 December 2003.
 * Arts & Culture Israeli Exhibit on Coexistence Gets Warm Welcome in South Africa, The Global Jewish News, 31 March 2003.
 * "Coexistence" Comes to Bern, Swiss Info, 18 April 2002.