Creating Space for Immigrant Artists

Project Kesher Israel has launched a new collaboration with DOR, a professional accelerator run by the Israeli Ministry of Culture and ANU, Museum of the Jewish People, supporting immigrant artists—particularly Russian- and Ukrainian-speaking olim—as they build careers and find their place in Israel’s cultural landscape.

The collaboration began with a study session led by Anna Talisman, MSW, head of PKI’s LGBTQ+ program and founder of the Russian-Speaking Feminist League. Through an exploration of Israeli art, participants examined how women artists have addressed identity, the body, motherhood, sexuality, violence, religion, war, migration, and belonging.

The conversation also asked whose voices are represented in Israeli culture, and whose have historically been left out. For immigrant artists, these questions resonated deeply with their own experiences of seeking visibility, belonging, and an authentic artistic voice in a new cultural environment.