by Gaia Regoli
On May 26th, the children of the Pele-school gathered, together with other guests, to launch the opening of the Children & Youth Gallery at the Djanogly Visual Arts Center.
The event was accompanied by the sweet melody of a harp and a transverse flute, which perfectly suited the creative atmosphere of the space. The laughs of the children filled the air and, after a talk in which Shai Doron was present as well, the children joined workshops in which they could express their creative essence.
Besides, I had the pleasure to meet the curator of the exhibition, Tamara Ben-Arzi, and, as I could not resist my curiosity, despite the lack of time, I asked her some questions.
“Children should constantly be exposed to art, so that, then, they know how to react to it” she tells me when answering my question regarding the message underpinning this exhibition. Furthermore, this is the second exhibition she has organized for the center. She is new at this, since, originally, she presents herself as a designer and a ceramist. “I still don’t feel that I am a curator but I enjoy it. It is very interesting and fun” she says. Her focus is not only on the art she has to present but also on everything else around it, such as the venue and the people she wants to reach.
For what concerns the Djanogly art gallery itself, it was recently renovated thanks to the support of the Jerusalem Foundation. In fact, supporting arts and culture in Jerusalem, while focusing on a wide range of populations around the city, is one of the main and most relevant purposes of the foundation. “It is of great importance to support institutions that teach children and youth how to appreciate arts and culture, as it is way of creating the audience of the future generations”, says Ruth Diskin, director of the Projects department of the Jerusalem Foundation.