We are pleased to announce the establishment of “the Rywkind Ben Zour Grant for Art, Education and Community” at CCA Tel Aviv-Yafo. The Grant, which was initiated by the Center’s Board Member, Iris Rywkind Ben Zour, together with her spouse, Eran Ben Zour, includes an annual donation of 100,000₪ and is intended for the Center’s annual exhibition program and related events and activities that emphasize education and community. This is a new and unique project that invites art students to the front stage by participating in mentoring sessions with the artists exhibiting at CCA and taking an active part in the making of their exhibition. In addition to that, the Grant will support master classes, talks, workshops, lectures, meetings, discussions, round tables, panels and special educational programs that appeal to a variety of communities ranging from school students and graduates to teenagers and adults.

The Grant focuses on projects that create resonance in the field of art education. The chosen projects require high levels of involvement, participation and mutual commitment on the part of the academies, their students and alumni, as well as the artists exhibiting at CCA and the general public. As part of the Grant, two exhibitions are selected, one by an artist from Israel or living in Israel and one by an artist from abroad. They are selected by the founders of the Grant from the Center’s annual program devised by the curatorial team. The selection is mainly informed by the ideas and context of the exhibition, as well as by the skills and ability of the artist to act as a mentor for the students and alumni who will take part in the activities related to the Grant.

The Grant was born out of meetings and conversations that Rywkind Ben Zour has had with art students, where she realized the importance of including them as active participants in the making of exhibitions, working alongside leading artists, thereby allowing them to gain valuable and direct experience in the field, in addition to the theoretical and practical knowledge acquired during their studies. For the students this is a unique opportunity to be full partners of these leading artists, to learn from them, and to get an authentic experience into the real and practical world of art. This holds an added and essential value for their future as artists. In addition, they become part of the “inner circle,” of the community gathering at CCA, an institution whose mission is to foster practices, discussions and reflections connected to the most relevant issues of our times.

The goal of the Grant is that, through these connections, everyone involved will benefit. Students and graduates get a rare opportunity to be involved in the practice of a leading artist in real time, to witness how an exhibition comes together and to gain a deep understanding of its power. This experience will shape their artistic journey in significant ways, not to mention that they will receive recognition and credit in the artist’s project for their involvement; taking part in these activities is not only a learning experience for them, but also an important chapter in building their artistic path in the field, which will be reflected in their resumés. The artists exhibiting at CCA gain not only practical help in making the exhibition, but also a fruitful and inter-generational dialogue; in addition to that they feel the passion of students and graduates eager to learn and be a part of their world. Last but not least, CCA is enriched by a plethora of activities tailored to its vision and exhibition program and completely synchronized with the practice and way of working of the artists it exhibits and whose exhibitions received the Grant.

In 2023, the Grant was given to “Etti Abergel: Memoir,” which was on view from September 12, 2023 until January 13, 2024. On this occasion, the Grant allowed a select group of students and recent graduates of the Multidisciplinary Art School at Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art – Adir Cohen, Shir Cohen, Noa Mor, and Masa Omar – to take part in the making of Etti Abergel’s exhibition through an intimate mentoring session. To watch the video documentation of the session, click here. Furthermore, thanks to the Grant, the exhibition hosted a series of in-depth tours and sessions for high schools, colleges, universities, and other pedagogical institutions:

· November 8 – National Teachers Association, led by Dana Aherman, with Tamar Margalit

· November 30 – A multidisciplinary group for dancers in training from Hakvutza Dance School, led by Lilach Dekel Avneri, with Tamar Margalit

· December 6 – BFA students from the Department of Textile Design at Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art led by Ofri Cnaani, with Etti Abergel

· December 18 – High school students from Gymnasia Herzliya (12th grade) majoring in photography, led by Daniel Rosenkrantz, with Tamar Margalit

· December 20 – High school students (12th grade) from Studio Ankori led by Rotem Sherman, with Tamar Margalit

· December 25 – BFA students from Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem led by Leah Avital, with Etti Abergel.

· December 27 – BFA students from Shenkar College led by Nira Pereg and Yonatan Amir, with Etti Abergel

· January 1 – BFA students from Hamidrasha – Faculty of the Arts, led by Tal Gafni

· January 2 – High school students (12th grade) from Ironi H, majoring in fine arts, led by Yulia Rabesky, with Tamar Margalit

· January 3 – BFA students from Bezalel Academy led by Yochai Avrahami

· January 6 – Members of the Visual Artists Union led by Tali Kayam

· January 10 – High school students (11th grade) from Ironi H, majoring in fine arts, led by Yulia Rabesky, with Tamar Margalit

· January 10 – Artists from Givat Haviva Residency Program, led by Dalia Manor, with Tamar Margalit

· January 11 – High School students from Thelma Yellin High School, led by Peter Meltz, with Etti Abergel

· January 11 – MFA students from Bezalel Academy, led by Yehudit Sasportas, with Etti Abergel

For more information about the exhibitions and the program of events supported by the Grant, please contact Mona Benyamin, CCA Tel Aviv-Yafo Content Manager, at press@cca.org.il.

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Documentation of the mentoring session with Etti Abergel, in which a select group of students and recent graduates from Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art – Adir Cohen, Shir Cohen, Noa Mor and Massa Omar – took part in creating components of Abergel’s installation, including manipulations of readymade objects, and craft-oriented activities with textiles and wood. Photos and video: Adi Toledano.