A group of Israeli and Palestinians Jerusalemites, a non-profit organization (Jerusalem Season of Culture).
Mekudeshet is an annual three-week Jerusalem-based festival that integrates a variety of activities such as innovative guided walking tours, displays, performances, temporary venues, exhibitions, joint circles and installations. The activities include and are led by local artists, activists, politicians, residents, writers, etc. from diverse backgrounds (e.g. Palestinians, Israelis, Ultra-Orthodox, Christians). For example, the walking tours are guided by local Jerusalemites with an emphasis on community-led initiatives.
I am not familiar with the inner-circle of the project, I’ve only attended some events as a participant. I do know that the activities involve a wide range of people from diverse backgrounds and many of them are open to the public for free (some require paid tickets). What sets this festival apart from other events is its local, bottom-up orientation: the projects are all very innovative and draw on local resources, histories, places and cultures.
The guided tours include audios (each participant walks with their own headphones and there is no interaction between the group members), some activities include maps, blogs, use of sound, light and video installations.
Again, I am not familiar enough with the internal make-up of the festival, but it includes a variety of creative activities and seems like an interesting case-study in the context of contested cities and heritage.
Arts and culture, music, theatre, urban studies