About the Musrara Collection

The Musrara school of photography has initiated a new project - the Musrara Collection. A visual and artistic archive of Musrara, a borderline neighborhood in Jerusalem with many social issues, from which broke out the protest group known as ‘the Black Panthers’. It is a collection of the life stories of the neighborhood residents: the images, the sounds, the photographs and the films, the immigration stories, the joys, the plights, the customs, the social struggle against the institution and the endurance over the years. Various artists were invited to submit works inspired by the materials, the photographs and the testimonies that were archived. The materials are shown on this website and in exhibitions in the social gallery of the school. For over 25 years the Musrara school has been involved in artistic and educational activity that influences the art world and society in general. The school emphasizes the link between art and society in many projects that repeat over time and intertwine with the neighborhood, it’s culture and physical space. The Musrara Collection project aims to document the human variety, the history and the culture of Musrara. The project focuses on the years after the establishment of the state - from the days of immigration and massive population of newcomers in the neighborhood, especially from north Africa, until the seventies, when the social protest broke out. Our aim is to collect in one place personal stories, testimonies, recordings, photographs and documents that make a multi-faceted mosaic that portrays the neighborhood: customs, memories of long journeys, the pains of settling in a new ground, development and maturity in the shade of the political situation and social hardships. The archive does not suffice in collecting and presenting materials, but insists on combining those, as the school does, with art and artistic adaptation of the archive. The artworks refer to and interpret the archive and add contemporary and personal viewpoints. The Musrara Collection is the vision and initiative of Avi Sabag, school founder and director. The project was made possible with the support of an anonymous fund.

The Musrara Collection is the vision and initiative of Avi Sabag, school founder and director. The project was made possible with the support of an anonymous fund.

Management: Ayelet Hashachar Cohen, Avi Sabag
Collection manager: Avi Dabach.
Collection team: Irit Eshet, Iris Pshedezki
Interviewers: Yafit Reuveni, Yaniv Kouris, Miro Maman

The Naggar School of Photography, New Media, New Music, Animation and Photo Therapy in Musrara.
9, Haain-het st. Musrara, Jerusalem.