In a signature initiative marking UJA-Federation of New York’s 2017 centennial year and the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem, UJA-Federation, the Jerusalem Municipality, the government of Israel and the Jerusalem Foundation are partnering to build the landmark Jerusalem Arts Campus, part of a broad plan to transform Israel’s capital city into a global arts and cultural center. The $50 million dollar project is slated to open in January 2020.

The Kirsh family, longtime UJA-Federation supporters, are making a $10 million gift toward the project.

The nearly 2.5 acre state-of-the-art campus, to be constructed near the Gerhard Behar Center on Bezalel Street, will include four distinct academic institutions including the Nisan Nativ Acting Studio, the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School, the School of Visual Theater, and the Center for Middle Eastern Music. The four schools have a current combined enrollment of 650 students.

In addition to housing Israel’s leading performing arts schools, the Jerusalem Arts Campus is designed to become a main thoroughfare through Jerusalem’s central neighborhoods featuring public spaces such as an outdoor plaza and new performance venues that will draw young people, academics, entrepreneurs, artists, and others to Israel’s capital, fostering a creative ecosystem in central Jerusalem.