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Murals Surrounding Dead Sea to be Unveiled Before Earth Day
- 18 April 2023
- 9:03 pm
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- 18 April 2023
- 9:03 pm
Painted by Zabou of London, a site-specific work is painted on a military wall between Lebanon and Israel. The tree grows up to look like it is part of another tree behind the border. A terror tunnel was later discovered under this very art and it was partially ruined when the tunnel was destroyed. (Photo from Artists 4 Israel)
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A group of international graffiti artists are heading to Israel during a time when the country is under threat of attack along three borders, enduring wave of terrorism, and torn by internal political turmoil.
From April 16-21 they will be transforming abandoned, former Jordanian military barracks near Kalia Beach at the Dead Sea into vast concrete canvases for fantastical murals. Their two-part mission: bring hope to a country engulfed in conflict and draw attention on Earth Day to the dangers facing the Dead Sea.
Ten artists from Argentina, Paraguay, Greece, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, the United States are participating. An artist from Ukraine was planning to come but had to drop out because of the war with Russia.
Craig Dershowitz, founder of Artists 4 Israel (A4I), has assembled an artistic task force of some of the world’s greatest streets with the goal of using art to heal, but is determined to avoid the current political fault lines plaguing Israel. “While my organization exposes artists to Israel — all of it, from the beauty of Jerusalem to areas that have been racked by war — our mission is humanitarian, not political. In the Middle East, the desert blooming has always been a symbol of healing. We are making the desert bloom with art.”
At 427 meters below sea level, the area around the Dead Sea is the lowest place on the planet not at the bottom of an ocean. The lake that formed there has some of the highest concentrations of minerals in the world. No fish can live in such waters, earning it the name the Dead Sea.
Today the Dead Sea is a tourist attraction where visitors marvel at salt sculptures sticking out of the water and swimmers float high enough in the water to read a newspaper without getting it wet. And cosmetic companies harvest the famous mud and salts which are then sold around the world in high end cosmetics.
But the Dead Sea sits squarely between Israel to the east and Jordan to west, and its northwestern shore was once contested military territory prior to the 1976 Six Day War when Israel came to control this area as part of the West Bank territories.
The Jordanian military left behind barracks that are crumbling in the extreme desert environment and it is here that the artists will be painting. These haunting buildings have long been a draw for young people looking to leave their marks upon walls that have seen so much history.
The area has been the site of a kind of counter-culture peace process. Palestinians from neighboring Jericho and Israelis from nearby kibbutz settlements sometimes write graffiti messages to each other here ranging from the hateful to hopes for reconciliation.
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“The incredible history and mysteriousness of this place is mind blowing,” says James Gillette, an artist from Los Angeles participating on the trip. “I want be a part of that history by leaving paintings as gifts to the landscape.”
It is a landscape that badly needs the attention high profile art can bring. Month by month, the Dead Sea is dying. The water level is dropping close to 4 feet every year. The main part of the lake is now two-thirds smaller than it was just 50 years ago.
The freshwater sources that feed the Dead Sea have been increasingly diverted by Israel, Jordan and Syria for drinking water and farming irrigation. And both Israeli and Jordanian companies evaporate Dead Sea water to harvest its rich minerals.
Agreements between Israel and Jordan to rehabilitate the Jordan River and divert desalinated sea water from the Red Sea to begin refilling the Dead Sea were struck last year. But so far, no concrete actions have been taken and many fear that these deals will flounder as new tensions between Israel and Jordan are leading to decreased cooperation.
In Sderot, artist Zoueh paints a version of a Roman statue keeping watch on the sky, offering protection for the kids from the next door school while they wait for the bus inside this shelter. (Photo: Artists 4 Israel)
The murals of the ten international artists will be joining work by local artists on the site with the goal of finally sparking action. “Our ‘Dead Sea Gallery’ was founded to help bring more attention to the ill-fated Dead Sea,” says Itay Maor, curator of Gallery Minus 430 which takes it’s name from the shores of the Dead Sea being about 430 meters below sea level.
Saving the unique Dead Sea may have benefits beyond environmentalism.
“The Dead Sea is responsible for sustaining rare forms of life that exist nowhere else on the planet,” says pharmaceutical and biotech angel investor Lionel Leventhal. “Microorganisms, bacteria and fungi are responsible for novel cancer and other medical treatments. Israel and its surrounding neighbor countries need to live up to their promises to reverse the degradation of this world treasure before it becomes irreversible.”
The responsibility to help save the Dead Sea weighs on the whole team, but Artists 4 Israel is no stranger to using art to take on big causes. The non-profit became internationally known during the first war with Gaza for painting the bomb shelters of Sderot into beautiful refuges for residents who were being barraged by thousands of rockets hitting their small community.
“We couldn’t end the fighting,” says Dershowitz, “but art brings its own measure of peace.” Since then, Artists 4 Israel has connected thousands of artists to Israel, became a leader in using art to help pro-Israel causes on campuses across America, and fights antisemitism through art throughout the world.
After completing their murals in time for Earth Day (22 April 2023), the ten artists will tour Israel, meet people from all backgrounds, and enjoy a new culture. Finally, they will return to where they began to enjoy some of the pleasures of the Dead Sea they hope to help save — slathered in mineral rich mud while relaxing on the beach.
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Thank you for choosing TheJ.Ca as your source for Canadian Jewish News.
We do news differently!
Our positioning as a Zionist News Media platform sets us apart from the rest. While other Canadian Jewish media are advocating increasingly biased progressive political and social agendas, TheJ.Ca is providing more and more readers with a welcome alternative and an ideological home.
We revealed the incursion of anti-Israel progressive elements such as IfNotNow into our communities. We have exposed the distorted hateful agenda of the “progressive” left political radicals who brought Linda Sarsour to our cities, and we were first to report on many disturbing incidents of Nazi-based hate towards Jews across Canada.
But we can’t do it alone. We need your HELP!
Our ability to thrive and grow in 2020 and beyond depends on the generosity of committed readers and supporters like you.
Monthly support is a great way to help us sustain our operations. We greatly appreciate any contributions you can make to support Jewish Journalism.
We thank you for your ongoing support.
Happy reading!
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