Le musée du « Seam »
Les expositions de ce musée d’art contemporain abordent les questions politiques, les problématiques actuelles et passées telles que les contradictions entre les Israéliens et les Arabes, le conflit entre le Jérusalem Oriental et Occidental. L’objectif de musée est de « présenter l’art sans bornes pour attirer l’attention de la société sur les problèmes sociaux ».
Unique en son genre, ce musée politique et social exhibe les meilleurs exemples de l’art contemporain. Le musée a été fondé en 1999 avec le soutien de la famille allemande Von Holtzbrinck. Il se trouve sur la grande route 1, au long de laquelle passait la frontière avec la Jordanie, d’où son nom « Seam » qui signifie en anglais la fracture, la coupure. Le bâtiment du musée a été construit en 1932 par un arabe-chrétien Antoine Baramki. Jusqu’en 1967 l’édifice servait de station militaire et de poste frontière.
Sur le toit du musée se trouve un café ensoleillé offrant une vue panoramique sur Jérusalem. Les dernières expositions du musée étaient consacrées à certains problèmes actuels tels que les droits de l’homme, l’angoisse affective, la corrélation du personnel et du public. Le musée du « Seam » est devenu un reflet des conflits et problèmes de la société israélienne. Par exemple, l’exposition « En dehors de la mémoire » montre les versions possibles de développement de l’avenir afin d’apprendre à éviter les fautes commises. A l’exposition sont présentées les œuvres de 24 peintres de différents pays y compris Christian Boltanski et Bill Viola.
Basé sur 47 commentaires de voyageurs
We went to the Museum on the Seam, at the join of Palestinian Arab East Jerusalem and Jewish West Jerusalem. And indeed we got there on the bus from West Jerusalem via Ultra-religious Jewish neighbourhoods, and left on the light railway, full of Arabs and Jews travelling together. My friend said the railway...
PlusWe went to the Museum on the Seam, at the join of Palestinian Arab East Jerusalem and Jewish West Jerusalem. And indeed we got there on the bus from West Jerusalem via Ultra-religious Jewish neighbourhoods, and left on the light railway, full of Arabs and Jews travelling together. My friend said the railway carriage felt like an extension of the exhibition! The museum is a place that wants to stress living together and it does succeed in this. The staff are both Jewish and Arab and very helpful. There is a lovely rooftop cafe with an amazing view over the old and new cities. The exhibition we saw (now finished) had a very simple message about Jews, Christians and Moslems living together. Perhaps too simple? But perhaps not, since so many people today seem to find this very difficult. Good for the museum for trying. Perhaps the best part of the exhibition was the short film taken in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which stressed that while pilgrims may come there for spiritual uplift, the monks of the different denominations are often at odds with each other. The photography here was wonderful. I look forward to seeing other exhibitions here.
Moins
Regrettably, my visit to this museum fell flat for a number of reasons. I was so excited to visit while in Jerusalem, as I love contemporary art, but though this museum preaches inclusivity and social awareness I found it sorely lacking. I'll keep this short- the museum claims to be on the "Seam" of Muslim...
PlusRegrettably, my visit to this museum fell flat for a number of reasons. I was so excited to visit while in Jerusalem, as I love contemporary art, but though this museum preaches inclusivity and social awareness I found it sorely lacking. I'll keep this short- the museum claims to be on the "Seam" of Muslim and Jewish sections of Jerusalem, and yet all of the museum descriptions were in English and Hebrew, without accessibility to Arabic speakers. There were no artists from the Arab world, and most exhibits were from the West- which would be fine, except that the majority of pieces involved female oppression in the Arab world and veiling in religious traditions, particularly Islam. This is an important issue, and the art was very impactful, but this discourse came from western artists and I couldn't help but feel that Arab women were left out of the conversation, and were instead just used as a voiceless subject throughout the museum. As someone who was excited to attend this museum, and still enjoyed my visit but just has a few remarks, I would love to see this institution improve its ability to represent the "Seam" with a bit more thought, perhaps by adding Arabic descriptions and including Arab artists more in their galleries alongside Israeli and western creators.
Moins
The Museum sits in what used to be a military surveillance point, just on the border between East and West Jerusalem. It's surrounded by the Jewish Orthodox neighbourhood of Mea Shearim and the mostly Palestinean areas across the street that used to divide the city. Thus the name is truly purposeful. The building and the views...
PlusThe Museum sits in what used to be a military surveillance point, just on the border between East and West Jerusalem. It's surrounded by the Jewish Orthodox neighbourhood of Mea Shearim and the mostly Palestinean areas across the street that used to divide the city. Thus the name is truly purposeful. The building and the views from the small holes for weaponry is worth some time. And the exhibition was carefully curated, alongside themes, in this case women and their place in modern society. A small museum in a great location to spend big time. A must every time you visit the city.
Moins