Photo exhibit dedicated to Jerusalem's beggars
Proceeds from exhibition featuring unique pictures of Israel's capital to be donated to city's poor. 'I want them to be able to celebrate the next holidays like all of us rather than on the street,' says photographer Sharon Gabay.
The person responsible for the colorful photos perpetuating people, landscapes and different situations is Sharon Gabay, who took all the pictures in Jerusalem: In the city's markets, while travelling, wandering about and talking to residents.
The exhibition is dedicated to Gabay's grandfather. "When I was little, my grandfather would take me to work with him. over the years, I realized that he worked as a panhandler in the market," says Gabay, who was born and raised in the city and decided to change his life in the past two years.
After working in different management jobs for quite a few years, he abandoned the air-conditioned office, grabbed a camera for the first time in his life, took to the Israeli capital's streets and began taking pictures of anything that caught his attention. This week, he is offering some of his work for sale, for much cheaper prices than usual.
This is the third year of Gabay's personal donation project. Last year, he handed out some NIS 30,000 (about $8,000) to beggars in the Mahane Yehuda Market and the city center.
"I know most of them and I want them to be able to celebrate the next holidays like all of us rather than on the street," he says.
The colorful photos, which have undergone computerized processing, present Jerusalem in all its glory: In a golden light and in a starry night, in heavy snow and in a clear blue sky, in rain paddles reflecting the city's beauty, the Old City and the new Light Rail, people and images in unique situation. The pictures are displayed in the exhibition on special glass surfaces.
"When we all have a smile on our face and are excited ahead of the Jewish holidays, it's hard for me to see the people colleting shekels in order to buy food for the holiday," Gabay says. "I want to help every beggar sitting at Mahane Yehuda or in the city center to spend the holiday with dignity."
Gabay, who usually sells his pictures for thousands of shekels, decided to sell them for a reduced price in order to allow as many people to purchase them and donate to Jerusalem's poor. For example, a picture which is usually offered for NIS 4,000 will be sold in the exhibition for just NIS 699.
Gabay is also selling a book of pictures from the exhibition, dedicated to Staff Sergeant Liel Gidoni, who was killed in Operation Protective Edge. The proceeds from the book's sale will also be donated to the city's panhandlers.
"I Don't transfer the donations through associations, as only a small part of the money actually reaches the people who need it," he explains. "I approach them, put cash in their hand, send them to buy food, to buy a shirt, to renew themselves so that they can also start a new year."
This exhibition will be on display until the end of the Jewish High Holidays.
