Video Vibes in the Givat Haviva Art Center
By Lydia Aisenberg
December 24, 2009
During the recent celebrations of the 60th anniversary since the founding of Givat Haviva, a professional video camera was presented to Etti Amram, director of the Givat Haviva Art Center and Peace Gallery, by Friedel Grutzmacher of the German Friends of Givat Haviva.
For the last ten years, the Givat Haviva Art Center has been involved in the innovative and extremely successful photographic project Through Others' Eyes, encouraging Jewish and Arab teens to focus on how much they share in common – through a camera lens – while at the same time learning to deal with the many conflicting differences within their communities.
The 11th successive group of teen TOE's is now well under way with the latest project, and another project for Jewish and Arab women has also commenced the third photographic expedition to the artistic and realistic day to day life they experience as women with shared Israeli citizenship.
Last year a new Through Others' Eyes project was born, around the making of video films. Proving to be successful but short of more equipment in order to offer the opportunity to those wishing to join the project, the German Friends of Givat Haviva decided - with the help of the City of Berlin - to step into the breach.
"The Though Others' Eyes photographic program is well-known in Germany through the successful traveling exhibition of photographs taken by past project participants and we now look forward to seeing the first video film to be made with this camera", said Friedel Grutzmacher, a former politician from East Frisia and Green Party member who served as an elected Member of the Rhineland-Palatinate Landtag between 1991 and 2006.
"These days with video film and clips being so popular among young people we decided to 'go modern' and try our hand at bringing in yet another element to the project. The video camera presented to the Center from the German Friends of Givat Haviva will now enable us not only to bring in more youngsters to the program, but with such a camera to work in a far more professional way", said elated Etti Amram.
The presentation of the video was made during the day of 60th anniversary celebrations and the unveiling of a memorial to Haviva Reik after whom the center is named.
In the expansive Art Center's main building, built by the British during the Mandate Period, a new Peace Gallery exhibition was opened by Haggai Halevi, Executor Director of Givat Haviva.
The works exhibited are the fruit of the artistic labors of Etti Amram and members of the teaching staff at the Art Center.
An installation by artist Zvika Altman, hanging in the entrance to the Art Center, kicked off – or rather poured sand on – the opening ceremony. The metal cone installation, hanging from the ceiling and filled with sand – a sort of gigantic egg-time – was the center of attention as Halevi cut the red ribbon that allowed the sand to flow freely … on to the floor.
The sand poured out for a five hour period – enough time to boil a whole hatchery supply of eggs!