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Drawing their way to freedom
Group of four mentally disabled artists helps create special Haggadah for Passover
Ynetnews
A unique art project organized by Chimes Israel
has resulted in special Haggadot for Passover that incorporate the drawings of four mentally disabled Israelis.
The Chimes Foundation, which provides prevocational and vocational training and individual support services to hundreds of mentally disabled Israelis, operates an art workshop that allows members to create and display art works nationwide.
“As part of our effort to turn this art workshop into an employment opportunity, we take these drawings to various directions, in a way that can bring financial rewards,” Chimes Israel Program Director Vered Krasenti told Ynetnews. “We want to make it not only an enrichment program, but also an employment program.”
The artists at work (Photo: Micha Adar)
This year, the group decided to incorporate the Pesach holiday into the art workshop, Krasenti said. “We defined the subject and motives, and the guys started painting. Each one did it based on their own personal world and the way they perceive the holiday.”
The drawings were ultimately used to create the special Haggadot, which have been drawing great praise, Krasenti said.
“It’s a very beautiful, high-quality product,” she said.
The program director noted that the four mentally disabled Israelis whose drawings were used in the Haggadot drew great satisfaction from the project, which also holds great symbolic value on the occasion of Pesach, the holiday of freedom.
A page from the Haggadah
“This was their key to freedom. They enjoyed it greatly and were extremely satisfied to see the end result,” Krasenti said.
For the time being, the special Haggadot are only offered in Hebrew, but Krasenti says an English edition is planned for next year.
“We’ve been selling them for close to two months now, and the response is great,” she said. “People and companies have been buying them at large quantities. This is a real product that is just as good, or even better, than what is out on the market. We’ve received many compliments from everyone who saw it.”
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