On Saturday, the holiday of Sukkot, October 7, 2023, the “Iron Swords” war began. A shutdown immediately began and friends did not go to work. Despite all the chaos outside, a routine had to be created. From this, the leisure courses partially continued, including a painting course, and after reading the “call” of the Lotem association “Gesher Laksheer”, we wanted to join the action and be partners of the project.

And these are the members who took part in the project and whose paintings are presented in the exhibition:

Yaakov Yuri – has been painting for many years. Loves work and regularly works at Agam Chai Yaraon, which was closed due to the war. The war struck him with his only sister, who lived in the south within firing range, his sister is his guardian. Jacob stopped working, and his plan went completely wrong. The painting allowed him to express his feelings and put order in the reality around him. His painting is expressed in patterns, bright colors and square shapes. Jacob’s painting, presented at the exhibition, reflects the private and national chaos caused by the war and calls for the return of the abducted to their homes.

Sergey Melnik – worked in the free market at the Galileon Hotel, after October 7, he stopped working for a year due to the closure of the Range Hotel. The change brought about by the war turned his world upside down, but thanks to painting, Sergei developed additional skills that were expressed in works with rhymes. Sergey is creative and fundamental, creation has become his whole world. One of his moving paintings is the return home of Bella, who was abducted to the Gaza Strip with her dog. The painting that had the honor of being shown in the exhibition is about the return home of the abductee Adina Moshe, whose husband was murdered in front of her eyes and his body taken by Hamas to the Gaza Strip.

Ravita Yom Tov – a key worker in the restoration. Since the beginning of the war, she had to come to work while all her friends were quarantined at home. As part of her job, she irons uniforms for the security forces and is still a partner in the war effort. Her paintings included war themes, for example, the funeral of a soldier. The painting shown in the exhibition depicts the funeral of a soldier of the Nahal Brigade, the late Daniel Levy, who is accompanied by his friends to his final resting place.

The artist Elga Voss came up with the idea of founding the farm painters. During her own exhibition at Arche-Hof Kneese in 2017, she wondered what it would be like if the people with disabilities who live and work on the farm could present their own works of art. She couldn’t let go of this idea – and it soon became a reality. In February 2017, the creative group at the Arche-Hof, consisting of seven participants, began regularly visiting Elga Voss’ studio. At the same time, they also painted directly on site at the Arche-Hof. The focus was on experimenting with colors, shapes and painting techniques.

Elga Voss and Regina Backhaus-Ohl from Arche Hof have accompanied the group with great sensitivity ever since. Both occasionally advise on the choice of colors or give tips on how certain tones harmonize well with each other. But apart from that, the court painters are completely free in their artistic expression. Each painting – whether a self-portrait, landscape painting, still life or abstract work – tells its own story and reflects the individuality of the respective artist.

“Some of the farm painters have severe handicaps, but they are all natural talents,” says Thies Merkel, director of the Arche Hof in Kneese. “They approach their art with complete ease and joy. That’s what makes the results so special – and often very touching.” The works of the farm painters radiate an intensity that reflects both the challenges and the boundless creativity of the artists.

One particularly touching project is the participation of the farm painters in the German-Israeli art project “Link Bridge”. In this international project, which was co-initiated and supported by capito Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the court painters dealt with the reality of life in Israel. Through easy-to-understand news and podcasts, they learned about the country and the situation of the people there, in particular about the artworks created by people with disabilities as part of “Link Bridge”.

Based on these insights, the farm painters created their own pictures that express their reflections and feelings. These works of art are not only emotionally moving, but also show how art can build a bridge between cultures and the realities of life. In addition to the art work, the participants also developed an increased interest in current news and the need to inform themselves about international topics without barriers.

The farm painters from Arche-Hof Kneese are far more than just a group of artists. They are a shining example of how art offers people with disabilities not only a space for creative self-expression, but also the opportunity to engage with the world and the stories of others. Their works invite us to pause and look at the world through the eyes of these extraordinary artists.

The group of Kfar Tikva painters has been painting for almost 15 years, in the composition of an open studio. The artists paint in an “art-brut” style, an intuitive, naive and colorful, pure painting that goes beyond planning and control.

In this project we looked at the works of different artists who responded to the war in their works, each painter connected to one work, told what feeling arose in him and what he would like to focus on: pain, loss or hope and then painted as a drawing or in color.

At the end, we made a video that summarized and included a phase of a renewed observation of the product and the feelings arising from it. According to the painters, the discourse and the products helped them deal with the difficult daily news, the anxieties and the feelings of uncertainty that surround us all.

Sharon Doron
Art therapist and Kfar Tikva group leader

German video about Kfar Tikva Village on YouTube