The Antea Gallery, Kol Ha-Isha, Jerusalem
Annette Kleinfeld Lissaüer's exhibition "Stuffed" (see pp. 160–172 in this issue), curated by Sara Alimi, was exhibited at the Antea Gallery in Kol Ha-Isha, the Jerusalem Women's Center. Founded in 1994, Kol Ha-Isha is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting a multicultural feminist model of social change. It provides a space for multicultural action of diverse groups of women in Jerusalem and speaks out in the struggle for equality and a just society, while running a variety of programs for women's leadership, the advancement of women's rights and the economic empowerment of women. (From the statement printed in the inside cover of the exhibition catalogue.)
Intrigued by Antea's self-stated mission of "creating a forum for the critical examination of issues related to women, art and culture and to advance the multicultural discourse of women and women artists in Israel" (ibid.), we interviewed Antea's director, Rita Mendes-Flohr, at her home in March 2007.
Nashim: How did Antea come to be?
Mendes-Flohr: At the initial meeting at which Kol Ha-Isha was established, Yvonne Deutsch, the director, said that it should have a gallery. Naomi Tannhauser and I took it on. Later we were joined by Tali Barkan.
Nashim: Why was it obvious that a women's center should have a gallery?
Mendes-Flohr: Feminism deals with discrimination, oppression, protest. We wanted something to celebrate as well. We also wanted to provide a space for women who haven't exhibited.
The idea was not merely to have a women's art gallery—a space for women artists—but to focus on issues. The intention was to create a feminist multicultural space, a place for discourse on multicultural feminism. [End Page 179]
Nashim: Is the community of the women's center really broad and multicultural?
Mendes-Flohr: Second-wave feminism in Israel started as an Ashkenazi movement. This was challenged, primarily by Mizrahi women, and in the late 1980s, the "Quarters" system was adopted. Every movement-sponsored event was to ensure representation of four groups: Ashkenaziyot (women of central or east European Jewish background), Mizrahiyot (women of Middle Eastern or North African Jewish background), Palestinians and lesbians. Obviously, there's some overlap among these groups, and they don't include everybody. The gallery doesn't specifically work according to the Quarters system, but this was an important influence upon its working principles.
The Aḥoti (My sister) exhibition (2000)—a group exhibition of Mizrahi women artists—had major media coverage. It was the first time Mizrahi women artists had been brought together in a framework that specifically addressed Mizrahi women's identity and cultural issues.
There was an exhibition by a group of religious women and one secular woman who paint together. They would take a (clothed) model, or do landscapes. There were also a couple of Russian artists.
We had two exhibitions with Israeli Palestinian artists. One was on women in situations of war, co-sponsored with the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. The artists were Jewish and Palestinian, including Muslims and Christians. The other was "Shesh" (Six), a group exhibition of six ceramic artists. They included an Arab woman artist whose family was expelled from Bir'am on the northern border,1 who made "bundles," symbolic of uprooting.
Nashim: Have you had a show that was directed to lesbian artists?
Mendes-Flohr: Yes, there was one with the Open House [a gay/lesbian center in Jerusalem—ed.]. The participants were all Jewish. That's a problem in Jerusalem. Most of the local Arabs are from East Jerusalem and don't want to cooperate with Israeli institutions. We really have to make an effort. Most of the Arab artists whose work...
