MAGAZINE
Keeping Your Voice, Finding Your Place. DOR by ANU.
Moving to a new country means much more than learning a new language. For artists and creative professionals, it also means finding a new audience, understanding a different cultural context, and rebuilding a professional network from the ground up.
We spoke with Dasha Ilyashenko and Anna Guterman, program coordinators of DOR, a professional accelerator developed by ANU – Museum of the Jewish People together with the Ministry of Culture and Sport, about how the program helps olim artists integrate into Israel’s cultural ecosystem while preserving their own artistic voice.
Big picture: what is DOR by ANU, and why was it important to create this program now?
When we came up with the name DOR, we embedded several meanings into it.
It sounds like “door” and symbolises an entrance to the local art scene. It is “Dialogue Of Roots”, because the program allows two cultures to meet on the same level. And it is “Design of Relevance”, where immigrant artists learn how to adapt their practice to a new environment.
DOR by ANU is a professional accelerator for olim artists and creatives who want to become part of the Israeli cultural field. It is designed for people working in visual art, performance, theatre, cinema, dance, music, design, literature, new media, and cultural production.
The program was established by The Ministry of Culture and Sport and ANU – Museum of the Jewish People. In recent years, Israel has received many new artists and cultural professionals. The question was not only how to help them integrate, but also how to allow the local field to expand through their presence.
The program focuses on olim artists and creatives entering the Israeli cultural field. What are the main challenges they face when trying to build a professional life here?
Many olim arrive with strong artistic backgrounds, sometimes even established careers. They are not beginners, but they often have to start from scratch: to understand the local scene, the codes, the funding system, the ways people collaborate, and how to be seen.
Visibility is a big challenge. You may have strong work, but not know who should see it – which curator, institution, festival, or producer could be relevant. And sometimes the local scene does not know how to read your work either.
Another challenge is language. Not only Hebrew or English, but professional language: how to write an artist statement, approach an institution, describe your work clearly in the local context without flattening it.
DOR was created as a practical bridge: a place where participants learn how the field works, meet people from the local cultural ecosystem, develop their projects, and build a professional network.
Many artists who move to a new country already have experience, education, and a strong artistic identity. Why is it still difficult for them to “translate” their practice into a new local context?
Because artistic practice is never only the object, performance, or movie. It is also the references, audience, political and social context, institutional expectations, even the rhythm of production.
When an artist moves to a new country, the work does not lose its meaning, but the frame around it changes. A symbol that was obvious in one place may be unreadable in another. A simple example is yellow color: after 7/10, its context and meaning totally changed.
So the question becomes: how do I keep my voice, but make it communicative in a new place?
Think of it as adaptation to a new acoustic space. The voice is still yours, but the room has changed. You need to hear how your work resonates here.
In DOR, we don’t ask participants to leave their previous artistic identity behind. We help them understand how their background can become legible and relevant in the Israeli context.
DOR is not only an educational program, but also a professional accelerator. How is it structured? What kind of knowledge do participants receive?
We call DOR a professional accelerator because it is meant to take the artist and their ideas to another level.
The first part is acquiring new knowledge: mapping the field, learning the basics about Israeli society, the history of artistic fields like photography, cinema and music, and very Israeli aspects of the art scene – religious context, protest art, the conflict.
On the practical side, we speak about how the Israeli cultural ecosystem works: institutions, funding, project pitching, budgets, production, and professional communication. We visit museums, theatres, municipality workers, independent spaces and art entrepreneurs.
Networking is a big part of the process. Every topic is covered by the best person to speak about it. Participants also work with top-tier mentors in their field. And the group itself – 30 artists from different fields – becomes a community.
Who should apply to the current open call? What are you looking for in applications?
Besides the specific criteria (less than 5 years in Israel, 4+ years of professional experience, spoken level of English) the program is for people who see themselves working on the local scene.
Applicants do not need to have everything figured out. They need to be curious, flexible, open to conversation, and ready to hear new things – sometimes not the easiest ones.
The program is for responsible people who know how to take initiative. We give tools and connections, but it is on you to use them.
We also ask applicants to mention the topics or projects they are working on, to understand if they already have something that can be connected to the Israeli audience or scene.
Looking ahead, what is your vision for DOR by ANU in the next few years?
Our vision is for DOR to become a long-term platform: a space that supports artists at different stages of their professional integration and creates new connections with the Israeli cultural field.
We would like to see DOR grow into a strong alumni network – a community of artists who continue to collaborate after the program ends.
We also hope DOR will become a meaningful partner for Israeli institutions. Museums, galleries, municipalities, festivals, universities, and cultural organizations can gain a lot from working with artists who bring different experiences and perspectives.
Integration should not be a one-way process where newcomers simply adapt to the existing system. A healthy cultural field also knows how to be changed by new voices.
The larger dream is that in a few years, we will not speak about olim artists only as people who need help entering the field. We will speak about them as people who actively shape it.
Dasha Ilyashenko, program coordinator. Independent art curator and cultural entrepreneur, focusing on integration of olim artists into the local art scene. Founder of KakdelArt platform and Post-tarbut telegram channel.
Anna Guterman, program director. Creative producer of large-scale cultural events all around Israel, art director of installations in public spaces and other artistic projects, with a focus on new media.
Applications for DOR are open until July 4.
DOR by ANU website: https://anumuseum.org.il/ru/dor-by-anu/
Open Call application information: https://anumuseum.org.il/ru/dor-by-anu-opencall/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dor.by.anu
Photography: Elena Rostunova, Tatiana Marek
