The Rywkind Ben Zour Grant for Art, Education and Community
The “Rywkind–Ben Zour Grant for Art, Education, and Community,” initiated by Iris Rywkind Ben Zour, a Center’s Board Member, together with her partner, Eran Ben Zour, focuses on projects that resonate in the field of art education. Projects as such require high levels of engagement, creativity, and mutual commitment on the part of academies, students, and graduates.
The grant includes an annual donation of NIS 100,000 and is designated for the Center’s annual exhibition program, as well as for related educational and community events and activities. Within the framework of the grant, two exhibitions from the annual program of the Center for Contemporary Art are supported: one by an Israeli artist or an artist residing in Israel, and one by an international artist
For these exhibitions, art students are selected to participate in mentorship sessions with the exhibiting artist, with the aim of taking an active role in the installation of the exhibition.
The working process is collaborative and includes direct, hands-on experience in the making of an exhibition. Participants become familiar with the dynamics between team members, the curator, and the artist, and gain an understanding of how the process develops in practice through dialogue, role distribution, and shared responsibility. The masterclass is intended for participants who are willing and able to work collectively, and to form a temporary community around the exhibition.
Supporting young art students and graduates in such a way enables them to take an active part in exhibition making and to work alongside leading artists, thereby gaining professional experience in addition to the knowledge acquired during their studies.
For the students, this is a unique opportunity to become full partners in an installation of an exhibition with the exhibiting artist, to learn from their extensive experience, and to gain an authentic insight into the practical realities of the art world. Additionally, the students benefit from a direct learning with the artist – an invaluable experience that can shape their trajectory in the art field in meaningful ways. Moreover, they receive recognition and credit within the artist’s project for their involvement. Participation in the grant’s activities is not only an educational experience, but also a significant chapter in the development of their artistic and professional careers, as they receive full credit in all exhibition publications to be included in their CVs.
For the artist exhibiting at the Center for Contemporary Art, this entails not only practical assistance in installing the exhibition, but also the benefit of a fruitful dialogue that is created by the cross-generational exchange, nourished by the genuine passion of students and graduates eager to learn and to take part in their practice. On top of that, they become part of the community at the Center for Contemporary Art, an institution dedicated to fostering practices, worldviews, and discussions addressing the most relevant issues of our time.
The selected projects are chosen by the founders of the grant from within the Center’s annual program, conceived by the curatorial team, and is primarily influenced by the themes and contexts of the exhibition, as well as by the artist’s skills and ability to serve as a mentor for the students and graduates.
