About Musrara Mix

Musrara Mix is a multi-disciplinary international event held in the Musrara neighborhood of Jerusalem since 2000, initiated and produced by the Musrara, the Naggar School of Art and Society. Musrara Mix serves as a focal point for artistic and social events that embody the cultural and political essence of Jerusalem in particular, and of Israel in general, while engaging with a central alternating theme each year.

Trapped in Time

Cronus, the leader of the Titans in Greek mythology (or “Saturn” in Roman mythology), became known as “the god of time” during the Renaissance. The shocking depictions of Cronus devouring his children one by one was considered an allegory for the human experience of life that inevitably moves towards its end and is swallowed by the all-consuming time, engulfed by eternity.
Between the physical concept of time created in the Big Bang and associated with space, mass, and energy, and the biological time that exists in all living things; between the natural cycle of nature and the measured and relative time, stands the human perception of time. Faced with the ephemerality and finality of things, the human consciousness asks: Where do we position ourselves in relation to time, in order to grasp our existence? How do we experience the expansion and contraction of time? And how do we reconcile the idea of the cyclicality of processes and events, in a Sisyphean and persistent loop, with the idea of a timeline that progresses from the past to the present in a linear sequence that has a beginning and end?
In recent years, we, as individuals and as a collective, are increasingly confronted with the conundrum of time: The one that slowed down, almost to a halt, with the global pandemic, and the one that accelerated after it with the climate crisis, the emergence of AI, the global refugee crisis, and the rise of political radicalism. But above all, we are facing the question of time right now, following the disaster and the war. We feel that time traps us – cruel, relentless, uncertain, imposing a continuous present, a past that fades into the distance, and a shrinking future, disregarding the desire to stop, go back, pause, breathe differently. It seems that time demands that we take stock, answer for our actions and attitudes or for avoiding them: Do we have the power to change the course of the present and future, and perhaps even the past?
It seems that even though time is imperceptible to our senses, it has a palpable presence we cannot ignore, which invades our thoughts and actions. Does the notion of the repetition of time allow us to unravel the present through by presenting a different view of reality and recognizing the gaps in it? And could these gaps lead us to a different way of thinking about the impossible situation in which we currently find ourselves?
While visual art is usually associated with three dimensions, works of art have always touched on the temporal dimension and attempted to capture it. At the same time, art is often seen as existing beyond time and place, striving towards eternity. Musrara Mix 24 will focus on the question of time and the different ways in which it is manifested throughout the history of art – time and space meet the image, the material, the sound, and the shape and are shaped by them. Can we break free from the shackles of time? Defy them? Outwit them? And if we are doomed to remain trapped in time, can we move inside it with our own movements – circular or even spiral movements – that will leave their marks and enrich the path of those who are trapped with us?

Getting Here

The Musrara Mix events will take place at the Musrara school building (unless mentioned otherwise), 22 Shivtei Israel St., Beit Canada, Jerusalem. Admission to the events is free (pre-registration to some of the events is required, please check the event’s page beforehand).

Parking is available within a short walking distance at Safra Square Parking (7 Shivtei Israel St.); For those arriving by Light Rail, the school is within walking distance from City Hall Station (Jaffa St.); There are also many Bus lines stopping at HaNevi’im/HaAyin-Het station.

Credits

Festival Director & Chief Curator: Avi Sabag Sharvit
Artistic Director Exhibitions Curator: Vera Korman
Artistic Director – MusraraSonics: Eran Sachs
Artistic Director of the New Music Department student works: Amir Bolzman
Executive Producer: Yali Reichert Mor
Technical Management: Tomer Azulay
MusraraSonics Technical Director: Ori Kadishay
MusraraSonics Lighting designer: Tamir Tubul
MusraraSonics Sound: Ron Sheskin
MusraraSonics Producer on-site: Gavriel Goodman
MusraraSonics Assistant to Artistic Director: Or Mai

External Relations and Partnerships: Dana Shahar
Head of Educational Programs: Sabina Romanova
Students Coordinator: Hila Ben Hamo
Office Management: Maya Cohen
Technical Team: Ehud Lax, Omer Goldberg, Mordi Klein, Koko Deri, Yael Elkabetz

Head of the New Music Department: Amir Bolzman
Head of the Photography department: Dafna Ichilov
Head of the Visual Communication Department: Guy Goldstein
Student Guidance: Ayala Landau
Musrara Galleries Director: Ayelet Hashahar Cohen
Musrara Galleries Curator: Shira Friedman

Digital Lab: Udi Assaf, Rafi Wolach, Uri Bareket
JerusaLab: David Lockard
Archive and Library: Maya Asher

Marketing, Social and Branding: Studio Rosetta
Graphic Design: Avi Bohbot
Graphic Motion: Tal Uliel
Website Development: Taya Sourikov
Targeting: Avihai Rosenberg
Public Relations: Mira Ann Beinart
Graphic Design and Visual Branding: Formanta Studio – Tal stern & Genrietta
Translation and Editing: Maya Shimony
Text editing: Nurit Litman