Poetry International Poetry International
Article

Mishkenot Sha'ananim

January 18, 2006
Founded by the Jerusalem Foundation, Mishkenot Sha’ananim is a non-profit, non-governmental organization, which serves both as a Guest House for artists and scholars and as an International Cultural Centre. Built against the backdrop of the magnificent walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, with the breathtaking view of the Judean Desert and the Mountains of Moab, Mishkenot Sha’ananim sits at the crossroads of past, present, and future.
Alongside programmes, which explore different facets of the creative process, we conduct extensive intercultural and interdisciplinary colloquia. In the belief that mutual understanding is the basis for dialogue between individuals and cultures, we have in recent years, promoted international seminars addressing universal issues such as ethics and human values, poetry festivals, music workshops and artist encounters. Over the years, some of our era’s most distinguished artists, poets, scholars, and creative thinkers have participated in Mishkenot Sha’ananim’s programmes.

In this extraordinary environment, Israeli and foreign artists have the rare opportunity to work in one of the most inspiring settings in the world. Many illustrious guests participating in events organized by other institutions - including the Israel Museum, the Jerusalem Cinematheque, the Israel Festival, and the Hebrew University - have made Mishkenot Sha'ananim their home in Israel.

Mishkenot Sha'ananim's roster of guest stars over the past thirty years includes, Mario Vargas Llosa, Jacques Derrida, Franco Zeffirelli, Umberto Eco, Pablo Casals, James Galway, Jacqueline Kennedy, Simone de Beauvoir, Marc Chagall, Frank Sinatra, Herman Wouk, Graham Greene, the Dalai Lama, Nicolas Nabokov, Paul Auster, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Erica Jong, Lukas Foss, Alexander Calder, Isaac Stern, Leon Uris, Robert Rauschenberg, Jean-Paul Sartre, Arthur Rubinstein, Saul Bellow, Edoardo Sanguineti, Alan Sillitoe and Stephen Spender.

Since undergoing extensive renovations of the guesthouse, art gallery and restaurant and the addition of the Konrad Adenauer Conference Centre, the new Mishkenot is better suited to meet the ever-changing needs of the city’s many social, cultural and artistic activities and reinforce Jerusalem’s status as a universal symbol of dialogue, tolerance and cultural activity.
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Prins Bernhard cultuurfonds
Lira fonds
Versopolis
J.E. Jurriaanse
Gefinancierd door de Europese Unie
Elise Mathilde Fonds
Stichting Verzameling van Wijngaarden-Boot
Veerhuis
VDM
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère