Timehop July, 2019: Painting Bomb Shelters in Sderot

As we continue to isolate, we miss travel, we miss being with people and we miss learning about new cultures. This time last year, Artists 4 Israel ventured to the city of Sderot on a mission to beautify buildings ravaged by war and cover community bomb shelters with love and hope.

This small city, located less than a mile from a Hamas stronghold, has been a major target of Qassam rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip.

Bomb shelters placed throughout the city are terrifying but necessary, clear reminders to the residents of Sderot that they are seconds away from danger. Our artists attempted the near impossible: transforming these grim reminders of war into soaring works of art (help support this initiative).

Artist TAKERONE blends photorealism with the abstract, featuring a tiger walking passed a light pole and coming out the other side as a kitten, both a hope for a more peaceful future and a play on the many cats that roam Sderot’s streets.

TAKERONE painting over a bomb shelter in Sderot, Israel.

TAKERONE’s art appeals to a wide audience, including children. It makes him happy to see the excitement in Israeli kids as he totally transforms this mundane shelter into a delicious kiwi fruit and a ripe strawberry.

Artist JUURI adorns another bomb shelter in her signature Japanese-American style; employing plants and flowers, traditional Japanese patterns and vibrant colors.

Artist Cedric (Vise) Douglas often features children as the feature for his art.

Artists 4 Israel Student Artist Intern Ely German works on a bomb shelter located next to a playground, getting messy in the process (to learn more about the Student Artist Intern project, please contact us).

Artist Mr. KAS adds real depth with a dove carrying a puzzle piece with a heart on it.

While the artists help heal the scars of war with their paint, they also get the opportunity to learn more about the country and become truth tellers to their hundreds of thousands of followers. The artists, taken on an informal tour around the country, led by Artists 4 Israel C.E.O., Craig Dershowitz, fall in love with this wonderful and diverse nation.

While there where many more moments full of love and learning that you would come to expect from a trip with Artists 4 Israel, we struggle to capture them all. After all, the beauty that these artists bring with them is best captured by the people that they touch with their art, and their new found love for Israel made evident by the memories they share with other contemporary artists.