Museum On The Seam, Jerusalem *

The Museum on the Seam is a socio-political contemporary art museum located in a neo-classical building on the geographic seam line between East and West of Jerusalem, in the meeting point of the three religions.

The house was built to serve as his home by the Christian Arab architect Andoni Baramki in 1932, on one dunam of property purchased from the Turjman Jerusalemite family in the Musrara district.

Over the years Jerusalem was divided (1948-1967),the Baramki home was turned into an Israeli military outpost, called the “Tourjman Post” situated on the border or no man’s land between Israel and Jordan overlooking the Mandelbaum Gate, which served as the only passage between the two parts of the divided city at the time.

In the year 1981 the military outpost was renovated and renamed as the “Tourjman Post Museum” commemorating the reunification of the city. The museum mounted exhibits of the guns, mortars and other weapons used in its defense.

The conversion of the Turjeman Post into a museum depicting the history of Jerusalem as a divided city, took place in 1983, through the initiative of then Mayor of Jerusalem, Teddy Kollek (1911-2007), the Jerusalem Foundation, and Georg von Holzbrinck.

In the year 1999 the building underwent change and a new permanent exhibition, calling for tolerance and mutual understating between people in the region, was displayed. On the day of its dedication, it was opened ostensibly as a site for ‘peace, tolerance,… dialogue, understanding and coexistence’.

Since 2005, the building serves as a home to the Museum on the Seam – a socio-political contemporary art museum dedicated to dialogue and mutual understanding. Museum on the Seam is a small, 3 floor museum. The Museum, in its unique way, presents art as a language with no boundaries in order to raise diverse social issues for public discussion and bridge the gaps. The museum also has a great view of the city and a cafe and bookstore on the roof.