Paper Short Abstract:

This research addresses the creation of “FeelBeit,” a Palestinian-Israeli cultural institution in Jerusalem. Using ethnographic research, I follow their attempt to institutionalise the Israeli infamous Mekudeshet festival into a collaborative pluralistic home.

Paper Abstract:

This research addresses the reformation and creation of “FeelBeit,” a Palestinian-Israeli cultural institution in Jerusalem. Alongside the city’s conservative cultural sites — theatres, museums, and holy places — Jerusalem is famous for its festivals and site-specific performances as well. The Mekudeshet festival presented local and international artists in various venues in Jerusalem between 2011 and 2019 which hosted tens of thousands of people, mainly Jewish non-Jerusalemites. In 2019, the festival’s management changed its name to FeelBeit (a linguistic wordplay of Arabic, English, and Hebrew meaning “inside the home” or “feel at home”) and moved to a permanent location. This change was not only a rebranding, but also a transformation in concept, finance and artistic management.

“Everything we present is rooted in love for the diverse people of this place. We are driven by a conviction that when all else breaks down, art and music must break through”. (FeelBeit, no date).

Through in-depth interviews, participant observations, and text analysis, the paper will present the artistic and executive dilemmas in curation and ethical decisions in creating a Palestinian-Israeli NGO. In the attempt to establish this collaborative center, discrepancies in power dynamics, management roles, budget, language, and the very understanding of the institution’s vision arose. The paper will ask how an Israeli homogenous events team transforms into a pluralistic, permanent home with the unique cultural capital it holds. Furthermore, what role does the institution play in a settler-colonial context, and how can communities in conflict create and contain separate or common artistic language?