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Meet Tsipi Ben-Haim

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Meet Tsipi Ben-Haim

May 13, 2024
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We recently connected with Tsipi Ben-Haim and have shared our conversation below.

Tsipi, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

CITYarts Young Minds Build Bridges Program started after 9/11 with the goal to connect youth around the world for peace. It arose from a basic need. When I went to schools and students asked me, why are they doing this to us? I asked them, who are “they”? We all realized that our youth need to get to know the kids across the seas. Our program led us to create the CITYarts Pieces for Peace project that gave every one of our students the opportunity to express “What does peace look like to me?” in a 6×6 inch drawing or painting. These artworks from 22 countries were the foundation that created the first CITYarts Peace Wall in Harlem, NYC. In 2005, when David Beckham came to New York, he was asked where he would like to play soccer with the youth of Harlem. He chose the soccer field at the Jacob H. Schiff Playground that has our mosaic Peace Wall in the background. He felt that this was an inspiring place to play soccer with the kids and send a message of peace. To date, we have created 7 peace walls around the world, the CITYarts Pieces for Peace project has held workshops in 123 countries, and our traveling exhibit has been installed in 25 locations around the world.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My founding of CITYarts came from the deep need to hear the visual voices of our youth to give them a seat at the table. I strongly believe that when kids create, they do not destroy; they inspire us all. And in spite of the fact that it seems so simple and so understandable, people tend not to listen to our youth, especially to teenagers. We tend not to ask them for their opinions, not ask them to get actively involved in doing something impactful for themselves and for their community. There are millions of creative young minds out there, minds that are just waiting to get involved and positively engaged in a productive, interesting project. If they are not being asked to do something positive, they may be asked to do something negative! We must teach our youth to think critically and make determinations based on facts and truth. Activating that youthful force and their amazing imaginations became a goal of mine that turned from a vision to a mission. With every project, CITYarts plants seeds for creative, caring young leadership.

I chose to found CITYarts through a combination of inspirations. I’m married to an artist, Zigi Ben-Haim, and seeing his creative process on a daily basis, and the birth of my son, Yori, 37 years ago. My husband helped me develop a critical eye for not just looking at art, but understanding what goes into it. I am also a writer, poet, art critic, and curator, often writing about cultural topics. When I heard about the closure of an organization that worked with artists to create murals and mosaics in New York neighborhoods, I thought it created a void for artists and for youth that need to be involved in something positive, especially in after-school programs.

It was then that I decided it wasn’t enough for me to write about it, I wanted to do it, and for these reasons I started CITYarts. The organization provides our youth with opportunities to impact their own lives and transform their communities. The artist became an educator for the participating youth, helping them to express their ideas creatively by painting, drawing, mosaic, and poetry. Youth work in collaboration with the artists. The artists aren’t telling the youth what to do, the artists ask the youth, “What would you like to paint?” The artists are helping the creative process so the youth feel a sense of ownership over the artwork they are creating on the walls, an artwork infused by their imagination. It’s what they need for their community that drives the creative process. The artist is required to listen to their ideas and show them the way to translate it visually. That gets youth, first and foremost, off the streets and away from trouble in New York’s five boroughs and beyond.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Seeing my vision come to fruition– I imagined it and brought it about– is the most rewarding part of being a creative for me. I always say it’s nice to have a dream and imagine what can happen and how it can change the environment, the people, and the community. When you see it come about in reality and how the participants– youth, members of the community, artists, teachers, vendors, tourists, and passers by –come and see the beautiful, meaningful creation of the community on the walls in the neighborhood, it’s a satisfaction that continues to grow. It is a constant reminder of accomplishment and pride for those in the community who helped bring it about.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I would say that every project is unique and has ups and downs to overcome. I fight to bring every project about, no matter how many challenges I face. One of the projects that I am very proud of is creating a CITYarts Peace Wall in Berlin. I chose an area that is a WWII landmark on the Grosse Hamburger Strasse in front of the Mendelson Graveyard. The mural is in a small open area, similar to a park, with a Holocaust memorial for women, the Mendelson Graveyard, and a new building with a white wall facing the open space. I saw that wall from the window of a Jewish school as I was on my way to give a CITYarts Pieces for Peace workshop with high school students. I asked the students about that area, and they told me: this is a very protected historical area. On my way back down the stairs, I looked through the window again with my host, Dr. Ina Althouse whose children were students in the workshop. I told her, this white wall is the one I want to transform into a CITYarts Peace Wall. Close to the wall were two very tall trees, and I told my friend that they look like two Sabbath candles guarding the wall, and we will create a mosaic mural here. I remember that Ina laughed, and she said “this is a landmark and historical preservation area, you won’t get permits to create a peace wall here. Tsipi, it’s Berlin.” I replied, “I will make it happen.” I went to the people in charge of the area, and everyone said we cannot give you permits. We spoke to the Mayor, American Ambassador, and Cultural Minister. I had to give them all detailed plans of what I would make and who would work on the project. They had a big sign sharing the historical significance as visitors entered the yard by the wall. Everyone said no. I wanted to know, who owns the building? Everyone I spoke to said, “we don’t have the information, we don’t know the owner.” I finally connected through the Jewish school with the president of the Neue Synagoge. On the phone I insisted that we talk in person, so I would be able to show him what I wanted to do. Entering the yard, the graveyard is directly in front of you with a memorial beside it. On the right was the white wall, and on the left were the tall trees and the Jewish school. There was a Jewish senior citizen’s building in that area that was burned down during the Holocaust. The foundation of the building remains, and visitors can see the brick marks on the ground. I asked them to move the plaque farther away from the white wall. They relented and moved the plaque. One day, after about a year, I decided to check out the building. The door was always locked, but someone was coming out that day and I was able to slip inside. Right there, close to the ceiling, I saw a big plaque with information including the name of the building manager, Klaus Schuett. I decided to call him, and I did and said, “may I speak to Klaus Schuett?” The deep voice on the other end of the line said, “who is asking?” I told him I wanted to speak with him about his building on the Grosse Hamburger Strasse, which is a perfect wall for a CITYarts Peace Wall. He answered, “where have you been all of these years?” Only then did he tell me, every time he came back from Hamburg to Berlin, he thought “what shall we do on this blank wall? There must be something special that needs to be done here.” He knew though that it was a lot of work to get permits to work in the park and gather other pieces to make it happen. He said, “I am coming back in a few days.” He came back and we talked in Berlin. A week later, he came to New York City. We met at my home and have remained friends ever since. It took me two years to get all of the permits. It took another year to organize six or seven schools to run workshops. We had a Jewish Israeli artist along with a German artist work on the mosaic with students and members of the community. It took us six months to complete the wall. After this project, I said if I could get permits to create a CITYarts Peace Wall in a landmark area in Berlin, I can create one anywhere. My next challenges will be a CITYarts Peace Wall in Washington, DC representing youth from across the 50 states and a wall outside of the Vatican representing youth from around the world.

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