All forms of art have the power to connect worlds; Music, theatre, dance, forms of plastic art… As a Director, and even more so as Artistic Director, I usually ask myself what I would like people to “take home” with them from the work/s, besides the art itself, which must be of high standard and thought provoking…
For two and a half years I was artististic Director of the INTERNATIONAL SHALOM FESTIVAL, an official part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Initially this festival began after an Israeli show (This City,) was shouted down by the BDS at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2014. There were more cases of antisemitism and in 2015 no Israeli Production dared to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe.
That was the base for our Shalom Festival- to bring back Israeli artists to the Fringe festival that had been originally founded to create cultural bridges. Financially the Shalom festival was backed by contributions of the Jewish Community, and they intended to bring only Jewish-Israeli artists from Israel. However, I told the sponsors that Shalom (= Peace), cannot be one-sided! If we are talking about cultural bridges -and the demonstrations outside are anti-zionist demonstrations calling to destroy my country- the only way to change this and sterilize the BDS, would be to show how Israel shines as a democracy, to bring to the festival Israeli Jews, Christians, Muslims, Beduins and Palestinians too! People who share the belief in dialogue. Making Art itself a dialogue for Peace= Shalom. It took some time to convince the sponsors, and some felt uncomfortable but they followed me. Within two years, we received political support and the BDS demonstrations outside became mere drizzles that went and vanished.
By 2018, Israeli productions were back with no need for a Shalom Festival… Mission accomplished.
Artistic management is a vision and a responsibility, not just an artistic mission -but a way of mirroring society through art. Not telling people what to think but expanding their way of thinking… Using art as a way of breaking taboos and glass ceilings… art is softer than fighting.
