2022
ESRA is Israel's largest English-speaking community, aiding the integration of olim,
while working toward equality in Israeli society through its education and welfare projects.
Oct2023

ESRA, the home of English speakers in Israel, is committed to making English speakers feel right at home in Israel by serving as a supportive community network. It provides services, offers activities, and acts as a platform to give back to olim of all ages and at all stages of their integration. Our emphasis lies in three key areas:
1. Strengthening personal resilience (emotional, financial, improving understanding of the Israeli systems, skill development, and more).
2. Offering a rich social and cultural framework (learning and enrichment, social and business networking, leisure activities, knowledge of Israeli heritage, and more).
3. Meaningful volunteering opportunities in English, both within ESRA and in the community through educational and welfare projects that we run for various populations in peripheral areas.
As a platform for giving back, and with ESRA’s growth, we have expanded our aid to additional waves of olim, primarily from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia. We lead projects aimed at narrowing socio-geographic gaps, including those stemming from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, for immigrants from Ukraine.
Our projects focus on educational reinforcement, English promotion, excellence in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), enrichment, self-growth, and the development of social skills for children, youth, students, special needs individuals, and families in need.
Both ESRA and its founder and honorary life president, Merle Guttman, have received numerous awards for their initiatives and achievements, including the President's Award for Volunteering, presented for contributions to Israeli society and immigrant absorption, and the Midot Seal of Effectiveness awarded for ESRA's commitment to results-driven projects, constant improvement, leadership, and social impact.

Quickly adjusting to the new pandemic reality, ESRA expanded its welfare services, held many events online, and creatively continued running important education and welfare projects. Such as ESRA Students Build a Community, whereby financially stressed students receive free housing in exchange for mentoring local schoolchildren and becoming community activists alongside shifting ESRA English Tutoring Programs online.

Program 2024-25 - Thursday 

Where: Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Sderot Sha'ul HaMelech 27, Tel Aviv

Cost: ESRA members NIS 650 | Non-members NIS 950

Schedule:
10:00 – 11:00 – Lecture
11:00 – 11:30 – Break
11:30 – 12:30 – Guided tours

Register

Thursday, November 14:
New York-New Wave (PS1 MoMA): Graffiti Enters the Museum
The lecture will delve into the ground breaking integration of graffiti into the museum
space, showcasing how this vibrant, street-born art form was recontextualized within a prestigious institution. It highlights the exhibition’s role in challenging traditional
boundaries and celebrating the raw, urban creativity of New York's street artists during the 1980s.
 
Thursday, December 26:
The Garden of Earthly Delights: Hieronymus Bosch and Modern Art 
The lecture will provide an in-depth exploration of the enigmatic triptych, examining its intricate symbolism and vivid portrayal of paradise, earthly pleasures, and damnation. The lecture will try to expose Bosch's imaginative, surreal landscapes that reflect the spiritual and moral concerns of the late 15th century, inviting viewers to ponder the complex interplay between sin, temptation, and redemption.
 
Thursday, January 16:
Peggy Guggenheim and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art: Beginnings 
The lecture explores Peggy Guggenheim's influential role as a patron and collector, highlighting how her avant-garde tastes and significant acquisitions shaped the course of modern art. The lecture will tell the story of a unique relationship with the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, focusing on her generous donation of paintings from her personal collection to the museum.
 
| Thursday, February 13:
Damien Hirst: Kitsch and Death 
A lecture that wish to examine the way the artist’s provocative use of kitsch aesthetics challenges conventional notions of beauty and mortality. It explores how Hirst’s work, characterized by its blend of high and low culture, confronts viewers with the stark realities of life and death through shockingly vivid and unconventional art.

Thursday, March 13:
Paula Rego: Expressional Art 
A lecture that explores how Paula Rego's vivid and often unsettling imagery captures the emotional intensity of human experience. It delves into Rego's distinctive use of narrative and symbolism, revealing how her powerful, sometimes surreal compositions address themes of identity, power, and personal history.
 
Thursday, April 10:
Black Jewish Lives Matter 
This lecture will review the development of a group of African-American Jewish
women creators in the last decade: a group of women creators who represent and
promote their complex identity in their work. The lecture will present four women creators from different fields and how their works are received in the different communities where they live.

 Thursday, May 15 :
A Short History of Light in Art 
The lecture traces the evolving role of light as both a technical and thematic element across different art movements and periods. It examines how artists from the Renaissance to contemporary times have manipulated light to enhance realism, convey emotion, and explore abstract concepts, highlighting its profound impact on visual storytelling and artistic innovation.

 Thursday, June 12 :
August Renoir: Nude from Behind (1881) 
The lecture delves into the painting's exploration of form and sensuality, show casing Renoir's masterful handling of light and texture. It examines how the artwork exemplifies the artist's fascination with the female form and his contribution to the Impressionist movement's focus on capturing intimate, everyday moments with a soft, evocative palette.

Exhibit descriptions will be provided following registration.
Entrance to the museum will be possible from 9:30 a.m.
Entry with subscription card only for the same series and cannot be interchanged Monday for Thursday or vice versa. This Museum rule is strictly enforced.

Registration: Click on the register link above or contact the Booking Office at 09-9508371 (ext 2.)


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