Accessible art: The 9th annual Jerusalem Arts Festival

Though most famous for its historic and religious sites, the capital city has much to offer in the culture department as well, not least of which is the annual Jerusalem Arts Festival, which celebrates its ninth year this March. The festival, sponsored by the Arts Department of the municipal government, is a celebration of amateur art in Jerusalem.

 

As in the case of arts festivals on many college campuses, “amateur” need not mean “lack of talent”; it just means the city is giving its non-professional artists – including many students – a chance to show off what they’ve got. Although, as always, the majority of the festival’s performers will be Jerusalem-based groups, this year, it will feature performers from across the country with one or two international artists flying to perform as well.

GoJerusalem.com caught up with festival director Ofer Meliach for a history of the festival and a preview of this year’s events. “We found that there were many amateur arts groups performing in Jerusalem, and we decided to unite them under one roof, in a special festival that would sponsor performances around the city, in a way that would help these groups reach a larger audience and also to make connections between artists working in different mediums,” Meliach recalls. “This is the only festival that brings together all the different art forms – most festivals are theater festivals or dance festivals. Our festival is for all of the above.”

“Now that the festival is in its ninth year,” Meliach notes, “the performers are creating programs specifically with the festival in mind. At this point, we have a waiting list of performance troupes who want to be a part of the festival.”

In addition to for-pay shows, including a special theater performance by members of the Jerusalem Methadone Center and a number of ConcerTiyuls (tours ending in devotional music concerts at local churches), free events will take place throughout the festival in the lobby of the Jerusalem Theatre.

The free events are in keeping with the festival philosophy, which hopes to bring the arts to the masses – both by encouraging amateur artists and by offering performances at proletariat-friendly prices. “We are bringing the arts to people that can’t always afford it,” Meliach explains. “Even the artists themselves are not professional groups, they are amateur groups, which is not to say that the festival itself is not professional, but these are people with day jobs who create art on the side. We are a pioneering festival, the first of the year, the lead-in to the summer festivals.”

The festival, which runs from March 8 to 14, opens with Mozart’s Magic Flute Opera, performed by the Vocal Department of the Rubin Academy of Music and Dance in Jerusalem.