We believe that every one of us has the right to learn, fulfill our potential, and make an impact

Bezalel Residency Program

About the program

The Bezalel Residency program aims to make art accessible to elementary school children from diverse backgrounds. It places masters’ degree students at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, who are interested in contributing to the community and view art as a tool for social change, as art residents in schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods in the Tel Aviv-Jaffa and Jerusalem metropolitan areas. The resident students teach the children the basics of an artist’s work and expose them to fundamental concepts in art.

Our partners in the program are the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, the “Out of the Box” Association, the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality, and the Jerusalem Municipality.

Goals

To establish a personal and professional development process for Bezalel students, as an outcome of the training and guidance they provide to school children.
To bring together children from disadvantaged communities and active artists, and to expose them to work processes and creativity.

Mode of operation

Each year, eight outstanding students from the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design are selected. The students are integrated into four elementary schools in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and four elementary schools in Jerusalem, in classrooms that were converted into art studios. Together with the school’s children, they create varied works of art. The children are given the opportunity to be exposed directly to the artist’s creative process in real time and to create and express themselves in photography, drawing, painting, and sculpture. The student-artists, in their role as guides and mentors, undergo a personal and professional development process.

At the end of the year, selected works will be exhibited jointly by students and artists at an exhibition at the Edmond de Rothschild Center in Tel Aviv. The Foundation provides support to the artists, through a scholarship and a living stipend during their year of work at the school.