Jerusalem’s Museum on the Seam loses major funder, may shut
German family to end financial support at end of December for art gallery that promotes coexistence and tolerance
Jerusalem’s Museum on the Seam, a contemporary art center promoting coexistence situated on the boundary between the city’s east and west, may close in the coming weeks because of a lack of funds, Israel Radio reported Saturday.
The main patrons of the museum, the von Holtzbrinck family of Germany, told the management of the museum that they would terminate their support for the institution at the end of December.
As of publication, the museum has yet to find private or public funds to remain open.
Between 1948 and 1967, the building served as an IDF post on the line dividing the Jordanian and Israeli-controlled parts of Jerusalem, next to the gate connecting the two. The structure’s facade preserves the scars of battle.
The museum was launched as a joint initiative by George von Holtzbrinck and then-Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek. Since its opening in 1983, the museum has featured an exhibit about the reunification of the city, interactive exhibits on tolerance, understanding and coexistence, and contemporary art.
In 2009, The New York Times included the Museum on the Seam in a list of places “that can change the way we see and the way we think, places worth getting on a plane for” and ranked it among the 29 leading art venues around the world.