Born as Equals: Art Against Violence in Israel
Presented by: Emmanuel Schen, Director of The Si'im Program (Cultural and Leisure Projects in the Community) of the Shekel Organization (Community Services for People with Disabilities, Israel)
The project was documented by students of the Si'im Video workshop, People with Mental Difficulties, and produced by Shekel in collaboration with the Cagan Municipal Communication Center in Jerusalem.
A general background - the Shekel organization develops and operates diverse community rehabilitation services for more than 4000 people with disabilities in Israel: community living arrangements, vocational centers, an accessibility center, programs for special education schools and others.
Shekel's Si'im program operates and develops cultural and leisure activities in the community: museums and community, culture, communication and sport centers throughout Jerusalem. The projects includes: a theater, a musical center with several musical groups, art and photography workshops, social clubs, communication projects (video, radio, television journalism and animation) and other activities, for about 800 people with different difficulties.
Photographers with disabilities work with celebrities
The 'Born As Equals' project is based on a simple idea of our Photography group students, eight people with mental difficulties, to meet celebrities from all walks of life, taking their pictures and asking them photograph our photographers in return.
Our goals were:
- Creating an international project expressing and demonstrating a message of equality among Mankind
- Changing public attitudes and stigmas towards people with disabilities.
- Challenging our photographers to participate and succeed with an exceptional project
- Creating wide public awareness of the project, and its messages and the participants' photographic achievements.
- Addressing personalities from all walks of life, especially the heads of the four main religions: Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and Islam
- Including Palestinian personalities as a massage of co-existence
- Exhibiting the project in main cultural institutions in Israel and abroad
- Exposing the project to the general public through the media and the exhibitions.
The project spread over two Millenniums starting at the Beginning of 1999 and ending at the end of 2001. We had a promising start with Israel's international singer Noah (Ahinoam Nini) willing to take part in it. Then we had a "flood" of acceptances. More then 80 personalities participated in it Including the heads of three of the main religions, The Chief Rabbis of Israel, the Pope John Paul the Second, The Dalai Lama; The Israeli president Mr. Moshe Katzav, Two former Israeli Prime Ministers Mr. Ehud Barak and Mr. Shimon Peres and the current Prime Minister Mr. Ariel Sharon. In addition participated many Israeli Ministers and Knesset Members including all the heads of the main parties. Many artists took part including Yoko Ono and Israel's top singers, actors, authors, architects, famous television hosts, football and basketball players.
The project became an international campaign for equality among mankind and dramatically exceeded our expectations in this regard. It was reviewed by all the main media channels in Israel: television, radio and the news papers. It was presented and reviewed on one of the most popular, live talk- shows of the Israeli TV.
Exhibition openings
The exhibition had two openings: at the Knesset on the International Day of People with Disabilities - December the 3rd 2000, with four Ministers at the opening ceremony and later in the Jerusalem Theater. Three organizations from California, Poland and Norway took part in it. The exhibition was subsequently presented in New York and Stockton, California, Gdansk, Poland, Oslo, Norway and Hadamar, Germany.
One incident demonstrates the project's power to change attitudes: while being interviewed for our television program 'Extraordinary', Member of Knesset (and current Minister of Health) Nissim Ze'ev said: I had no idea that the participants could produce such high level products.
Failure then success
Our only "failure" was the refusals we received when we approached the Mufti of Jerusalem to represent the Muslim world and Palestinian Personalities or even Israeli Arab Knesset Members. [They all refused.] We believe that it was their reaction to the beginning of the second Intifada. Nevertheless, towards the end of the project we succeeded in including a group of Arab photographers with disabilities working together with the Jewish group in complete harmony so the co-existence was demonstrated after all.
Finally, several comments about the Project's contribution to our photographers: They have been working constantly for two year like a journalists team, being called for missions on short notices, as many as two or three times a week. Their reward was received when they presented their achievements in the media and at the various openings, feeling the taste of being celebrities themselves, a feeling which goes beyond words.
Finally, a documentary following the various stages of the project was filmed by students of Shekel's video workshop.
|
