Outline – Illustration and Words in Jerusalem | Unusual 21.11–19.12.25

Israel’s leading illustration festival, Outline Illustration and Words in Jerusalem, launches for the ninth time, initiated by the Culture and Arts Division of the Jerusalem Municipality.

For about a month, dozens of exhibitions, performances, workshops, tours and varied activities will take place throughout the city under this year’s theme: Not Ordinary. The theme Not Ordinary was chosen against the backdrop of a reality in which a sense of routine is upset by ongoing upheavals, within an extended state of disruption both private and public. Many of the works were created in direct relation to the ongoing war, and look toward the possibility of dismantling habit, expanding ways of thinking and asking questions instead of producing answers. Outline seeks to deepen our attention to the unexpected, to moments of interruption and to the opportunities they create for reexamining what is familiar, stable and taken for granted.

Hila Smolianski, Head of Visual Arts at the Jerusalem Municipality: “Jerusalem is a capital of culture, a city that is a living and breathing cultural laboratory. The Outline Festival, the month of illustration and the written word in Jerusalem, is taking place this year for the ninth time. The theme chosen this year is Not Ordinary, an idea shaped by the curators together with the artists while the war was still ongoing. In this year’s festival we are engaging with images and with words, and with the ways they reflect the emotional state of this place and of this moment. If we imagine for a moment, we are now like a person who has been struck and is in the stage of looking at the wound, trying to understand its depth and figuring out how to begin healing. “The works presented this year reflect that need for healing and for rebuilding the cells that were damaged: of the body, the community and the spirit. The community of illustrators in Jerusalem and across the country waits for Outline every year and returns to it with love this year as well. “We look forward to seeing all of you here. “Come, let your heart expand.”

Moshe Leon, Mayor of Jerusalem: “‘Outline – Illustration and Words in Jerusalem’ has become a moving cultural tradition, and I am proud to see it entering its ninth year and expanding its activity into major museums in the city. Jerusalem continues to be fertile ground for creation, for meaningful dialogue and for deep artistic inspiration. “The city will continue to support the local and international illustration community and to promote a rich and diverse cultural landscape. I invite the wider public to take part in the festival and experience Jerusalem as a vibrant, accessible, and inspiring cultural center.”