About the School:

musrara.org.il/

Founded in 1987 in the heart of Musrara neighborhood, a seam- line neighborhood overlooking the old city of Jerusalem and Damascus Gate.

Musrara is an institution of higher education in the interdisciplinary arts which provides professional training to its students in the fields of photography, new media, new music, visual communication and phototherapy (with 3-year programs in all 5 departments). Our programs emphasize the importance of creating interdisciplinary art that deals with social action and community work.

Musrara has developed its own unique model as an educational institution that is open to its immediate surroundings and explores new approaches to the relationship between art and the community. Through this model, the school in cooperation with veteran residents (most of whom emigrated from North Africa in the ‘50s and suffered from poverty and discrimination for many years) has been transforming the marginalized and neglected Musrara neighborhood with its negative reputation into a vibrant venue for international events, which draw tens of thousands of people each year.

Over the years, the school has promoted and led a process of visual and anthropological research, establishing the school as a center of knowledge and inspiration for various organizations in Israel and abroad. The school’s activities are founded on collaborations between students, local residents, teachers and artists, who come together to build and create socio-artistic projects.

During the course of the previous year, the school launched its "Musrara Collection" project, the product of years of in-depth research. The project includes a website and an archive of life stories videos, recordings, and photographs of the local residents. It provides a wealth of resource materials that are used to create new art works for exhibition in the school’s galleries, as well as in various locations throughout Israel and around the world. (In May 2012, Musrara was chosen to represent Israel at the Photography Biennale in Amsterdam, where the school presented its socio-artistic manifesto).

www.osef.musrara.co.il

Among the major events established and led by the school are: the Black Panthers Exhibition, the publishing of a book on Musrara food, guided tours of the neighborhood, guided tours of the school’s galleries, and the international festival "Musrara Mix", attracting thousands of people every year.

Approximately 200 students attend Musrara study programs. Courses are taught by academics with bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees, as well as by contemporary artists, multi-disciplinary artists, social activists, and Musrara graduates.