Israel - Aerosol Edition
In May 2023, three artists visited Israel for a 10-day residency with the Next Level program. Artists Chino (Site Manager), Alice Mizarchi, and Peyton Scott Russell traveled to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, with support from their local partner, Ennis Cultural Center.
Next Level, a cultural diplomacy program that uses Hip Hop to create connections, is an initiative of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Meridian International Center. The program promotes conflict transformation, entrepreneurship, and artistic and professional development among younger and underserved audiences around the world.
The workshops presented during the Academy focused on a range of Aerosol techniques, including lessons on mural painting, tagging, and stenciling. Additionally, the artists held talks on arts education and entrepreneurship, providing a chance for the participants to hear about the artists’ development, as well as giving insight into how students could hone their own craft.
The residency saw a wide range of demographics represented during its programming. Adult collaborators included art teachers, youth counselors, and local artists. Younger collaborators came from the neighborhood students and local youths, with a diverse range of individuals who came from the mixed Jewish-Arab neighborhoods of Jaffa-Tel Aviv. The program had 15 adults, 13 kids, and 12 teens participate, with 26 females and 14 males.
Altogether, the time is Israel allowed for successful connections to be made with communities in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The unique nature of the Aerosol program meant that the residency was able to leave a permanent mark on the cities that they visited. At the Ennis Cultural Center, the team was able to produce a space for a final piece, with the slogan “We Belong Here” being central in the works messaging. In collaboration with the participants, the mural was successfully painted, illustrating all the techniques learned during the program.