Actor Oren Atias, Graduate of Cohort 4 (Photo: Camilla Butchins)
The fellows of Cohort 4 of the Mandel Program for Cultural Leadership in the Negev celebrated their graduation by holding a public event entitled “Culture in Motion,” which focused on the relationship between art and technology. The performances and exhibits of this cultural happening, which was held at the Gav Yam Advanced Technologies Park in Beer Sheva, demonstrated the potential inherent in collaborations, creative exchanges, and dreams of new horizons for the Negev.
The works of art created and presented by the fellows explored the relationship between the traditional identity of the Negev, which Israelis associate with the desert, and a new Negev identity that would emphasize innovation, cyber and progress.
A musical performance by graduate Dani Roy-Shapira (Photo: Camilla Butchins)
Exhibits included a fashion show inspired by the traditional jalabiya robe; a kochia plant that stopped its tumbleweed rolling and was transformed into a large jewel; a mechanical door that serves as the entrance to a desert illusion; a dialogue between a cello and ancient Bedouin song; and an exhibition of large-scale portraits of Bedouin women. Additional cultural events at the happening included hybrid theater shows, musical performances, and spoken word poetry.
"The issue the group decided to highlight today is related to changes in the ways in which the Negev is embedded in Israeli consciousness," said Dr. Hagit Damri, director of the program, at the opening of the event. “The 15 wonderful graduates of Cohort 4 have a great love for the Negev and are committed to changing and improving the reality in the region.”
A conversation between graduates Yoav Meir and Sara Shehda and a guest at the event (Photo: Camilla Butchins)
"This is a very exciting event for the future of leadership in the Negev," said Faiz Abu Sahiban, mayor of Rahat. "I want to emphasize the productive collaboration between Bedouin and Jews here.”
“The fellows of the program… are on the frontier of exciting new happenings – culture in action, culture in practice,” said Dr. Adi Nir Sagi, director of the Mandel Center for Leadership in the Negev, in her opening words.
The fellows decided to hold a public event rather than to celebrate their graduation privately in order to invite residents of the area to come, experience, think together, and participate in the great conversation about the future of the Negev.
