Jerusalem is a city of old and new, of conservation and development, a multicultural city with diverse populations. As a city of pilgrimage that is sacred to the three main religions, many craftsmen worked in Jerusalem throughout its history – cobblers, tinsmiths, carpenters, goldsmiths and bookbinders – who served all visitors to the city. Bezalel, the first school of the arts in Jerusalem, was founded in 1906 in order to preserve and train young people in the ancient crafts. Today, with the takeover of technology and automation, the design professions are becoming digital, the craftsmen are being pushed aside, and the traditional crafts are disappearing. “The matchmaker” pairs nine contemporary Jerusalem designers with nine traditional craftsmen in Jerusalem. This intergenerational and interdisciplinary matchmaking produced nine products that are displayed in the exhibition. In addition, a website with an open-source code map connects the craftsmen with additional designers and perpetuates the project. In this way, an expanding database is created to revitalize these crafts through contemporary design, while promoting Jerusalem’s local economy
Curator: Daniel Nahmias
Designers and Craftspeople:
Shoshana Stein and Avigail Roubini / Eitan Goren and Amir Zobel
multidisciplinary designer / Arab Blind Association Workshop and Bar Horowitz / Muhammed abdalghani abed aljawad and Galia Sasson / Hadar Klaidman
and Dana Sabag / Iliya Feldman and Michal Levitzky / Dedi Osdon and Ran Blau / Eyal Hofmekler Luthier and Shady francis Majlaton / Neshan Balian and Sharon Sides Hoter
Thanks: Arab Blind Association
