ARTS&LIFE
ART EXHIBIT

continued from page 77

Jewish heritage and visit as a 
way to highlight major cultural 
milestones in their respective 
communities. 
In what was a classic case 
of six-degrees of separation, 
it turns out that preexisting 
relationships between members 
of our local Jewish and Indian 
communities would come 
together to create what turned 
out to be an inspiring and 
diverse event on April 16.

A CULTURAL 
CELEBRATION
The JCC was looking for 
something impactful to 
celebrate the 75th anniversary 
of Israel’s independence, Yom 
HaAtzmaut, Independence Day, 
that was observed this week.
The gallery is one of 
the myriad of cultural arts 
offerings at the JCC. Judy 
Loebl, its chief programming 
officer, was the brainchild 
behind the gallery’s 
commemorating Israel’s 
milestone anniversary. 
“I felt it was important that 
our departments participate 
in Israel’s independence of 75 
years and for the gallery to 
have an exhibit of Israeli artists 
that are working and living in 
Israel today.”
To that end, Loebl reached 
out to Yiftah Leket, the senior 
community shaliach (emissary) 
for the JFMD. Leket works 
for the Jewish Agency and is 
completing his third of three 
years stationed in Detroit 
from Israel; his mission to 
strengthen Israel’s ties with our 
community.
It turns out the JFMD has 
a partnership region in Israel 
(Partnership2Gether) in the 
Central Galilee, of which one 
of the municipalities is the 

Your early notoriety came from the murals 
you painted in the Mahane Yehuda 
Market in Jerusalem, popularly referred 
to as “The Shuk.” To date, you’ve painted 
250 murals on the shutters the merchants 
draw down each night. You saw the shut-
ters as natural canvases?
In a matter of speaking, yes. I was intro-
duced to The Shuk while attending the 
yeshivah and wanted to bring life to the 
area on Shabbat when everything was 
closed. 

And were you commissioned to do these 
murals?
No, friends of mine initially supplied me 
with a couple hundred cans of spray paint, 
which set us off on our trajectory. We accept-
ed some donations, and eventually the 
money we collected for tours of our art in 
The Shuk covered our costs for a few years. 
It was never about profits. It was about bring-
ing light and color to this dark space. 

From shutters to murals on buildings that 
are several stories high, just what is it 
about you and murals?
I’m quite a social individual, and I like 
painting large images and challenging 
myself. Painting in the street is an amazing 
experience, a very dynamic experience. 
You’re painting for the public. You can get 
cheered or booed.

People refer to you as a street artist or 
muralist. Do you have a preference?
I’m a painter. Just a painter [said with a 
modest smile]. Just a human who likes to 
paint. I think everyone should be painting. 
As children, we all painted, but adults stop 
painting for some reason. We all still have 
that childhood imagination within us.

You’ve painted countless well-known per-
sonalities from all walks of life. Has any-
one you’ve done a portrait of seen your 
interpretation of them?
“Dr. Ruth” Westheimer, the sex therapist, 
was attending an event in Israel and hap-
pened to be at The Shuk marketplace in 
Jerusalem. She was not aware that I had 
painted a mural of her there. I brought her 
over and surprised her. She loved it. She’s a 
sweet little lady. 

You’re British, Jewish, Indian and an 
Israeli. It was noted in remarks by the 
people who introduced you at the open-
ing of your exhibit that your art rep-
resents diversity and inclusion. What do 
you hope are the messages your paint-
ings convey? 
I want my art to be for everyone. The 
streets are diverse, and art is a language 
that everyone can speak, no matter what 
your background. It’s for everyone to enjoy 
and interpret in their own way.

I often write humorous columns in the 
Jewish News, so this is a tongue-in-cheek 
question. You’re a painter of murals who 
lives in Jerusalem ... is the Wailing Wall a 
tempting subject?
I can’t say it hasn’t crossed my mind [said 
equally with tongue-in-cheek]. However, I, 
of course, would never consider that. The 
Wailing Wall is a piece of art on its own.

You’ve painted all over the world and you 
seem to be painting projects nonstop, but 
I was surprised to hear you don’t have an 
agent or a publicist. 
God is my agent. He is the conductor of 
the universe, and he conducts my orches-
tra. You have to keep the faith. 

ONE-ON-ONE WITH SOLOMON SOUZA continued from page 77

ALAN MUSKOVITZ

78 | APRIL 27 • 2023 

A perspective of the Creation 
 mural when under construction