Zumu’s journey began in the schoolyard of the abandoned Shoshanat Yaakov School. After three years of developing the idea and raising funds, we launched the pilot in a recycled hothouse, moved from a Moshav next to Jerusalem, the first space to house the portable museum. The space held works by 20 artists and ran workshops and video screenings in the classrooms of a neighboring school.   

Zumu 1 also invited five local artists to present their work as part of the exhibit that dealt with identity and hosted a small group of artists who created specially commissioned artworks.

The schoolyard also housed Zumu’s containers, which became the hallmark of the portable museum, in which Ha’asif was exhibited— Zumu’s socio-museum collection by artist and director of Zumu’s educational department, Sharon Glazberg.

Zumu hosted children from all of the city’s school classrooms and the surrounding Bedouin settlements and offered a multi-faceted public program, which included dance performances, spoken word meetings, plays for children and more. All of the activities and training that took place in Zumu Yeruham were free.

Zumu Yeruham was made possible by the generous support of the Ofer family, Ted Arison Family Foundation, Mifal HaPais, Yeruham Municipality and private donors.