Fashion project empowers young women
Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design welcomes group of teenage girls on tour of jewelry and fashion department as part of 12-week program encouraging self-expression through creativity
The group of 17 girls, aged 14 and 15, from the Shazar school in Bat Yam, are participating in a 12-week project implemented by the Bat Yam Municipality, which encourages self-expression through creativity.
Led by Ayala Efron, a 30-year-old who graduated from Bezalel with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2008, and Anat Ben Yehuda from the Bat Yam Municipality, the group was invited to see the jewelry and fashion department, meet Einat Leader, the head of the department, other faculty members and some jewelry and fashion students.
The visit was instigated by Ayala Efron, now studying for a master's degree in women and gender studies at Tel Aviv University, who built and wrote the workshop, entitled "To Be A Girl", as part of the annual scheme in Bat Yam that offers a choice of eight different creative "tracks" for teenagers, including photography, theater, music, plastic arts and fashion.
As a star graduate of Bezalel's jewelry and fashion department, Efron was recommended to the Bat Yam art project by Einat Leader.
The teenagers on Efron's fashion program are currently meeting each Wednesday from early January until late March. Through the medium of fashion they are encouraged to express themselves and their experiences, examine and interrogate the images and influences to which they are exposed, gain a better understanding of themselves and reinforce their sense of personal identity.
Efron's program will culminate in the girls designing T-shirts that will be displayed in a festival in Bat Yam at the end of March involving the teenagers on all the artistic tracks.
The weekly meetings that the girls attend include several workshops and discussions about fashion, trends and image, plus projects to create fashion and clothing. Efron encourages the girls to consider the typical images they see daily, particularly from the fashion world, and to think about what is missing from these images in terms of alternative ideas of beauty.
The process leads the girls to an understanding that there are different ways of being, and in all cases, strengthens their self -confidence and develops strong bonds of trust within the group.
"It's easy to forget that it's tough being a teenage girl," Efron says, "and this project gives the group an important means to express their thoughts, views and concerns, to gain confidence and build great friendships.
"People often consider the idealized images from the fashion world to be a cause of dissatisfaction and insecurity amongst teenage girls, but I am passionate about fashion and I'm glad that I can use it to positively communicate the experience of being a young modern woman.
"During the program, I've watched the girls grow in confidence, express themselves more freely through fashion, and question the stereotypes with which they're bombarded. It's a fantastic process. I've learned a lot from the girls too. They're smart and intuitive and they really know how to have fun. It is a privilege to work with them and to apply the skills and knowledge I gained at Bezalel in such an exciting way."
Making fashion relevant, meaningful
Einat Leader, head of Bezalel's jewelry and fashion department adds, "All of us at Bezalel are delighted to welcome the girls to the jewelry and fashion department and share our knowledge with them.
"Also, we're so pleased to see Ayala again and work with her. She has put together a wonderful program, judging by the girls' enthusiasm, which was great to see. This is unsurprising because Ayala was an excellent student and I didn't hesitate in recommending her to develop and lead the program in Bat Yam.
"At Bezalel we put a great emphasis on making fashion relevant and meaningful to real people, and making the best knowledge and techniques genuinely relevant. So naturally we're happy to become part of this program and share Bezalel's expertise and passion for fashion with this great group of girls. I'd say that their enthusiasm is a fantastic reminder, if one were needed, why we care so much about what we do here."
Shir Rafaeli, a 15-year-old group member from Bat Yam says, "We loved our trip to Bezalel, meeting Einat and everyone else. It was really good to see the workshops here at Bezalel and talk about some of the things we've discussed and learned with such interesting people. Everyone's been great and it's brought Ayala's brilliant program to life."
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