Multidisciplinary culture centre operated by a majority of employees with sensory disabilities

Na Laga’at, a cultural centre in Israel, employs over 100 staff, 70% with sensory disabilities. Its theatre, restaurant, and workshops have hosted 1M+ visitors since 2007, promoting vocational training.

Na Laga’at is an innovative cultural centre in Jaffa, Israel, providing equal employment opportunities for people with sensory disabilities. It features a professional theatre with deaf, blind, and deafblind actors, a dark restaurant, an event complex, workshops, and a school of performing arts. The centre also provides vocational training and employment, with 70 per cent of its 100+ workforce having sensory disabilities. From 2007 to 2024 over a million visitors have experienced its programmes.

Problems Targeted

Na Laga’at Center addresses the lack of equal employment opportunities for people with sensory disabilities in the performing arts and other fields, while also raising public awareness and creating inclusive spaces for meaningful interaction.

Solution, Innovation and Impact

The Na Laga'at Center is a non-profit organization based in Jaffa Port, Israel, dedicated to empowering individuals with sensory disabilities through inclusive employment and vocational training in the performing arts, hospitality, and education sectors, and at the same time using performing arts to advocate for a more tolerant, open, and inclusive society. The centre provides a comprehensive model for integrating individuals with sensory disabilities into the workforce, offering various employment opportunities through its theatre, school of performing arts, dark restaurant, event complex, and workshops. For instance, the Black-Out Dark Restaurant employs blind and visually impaired wait staff, and the Kapish Event Complex features deaf or hearing-impaired waiters, fostering an inclusive environment where guests can learn Israeli Sign Language. The theatre ensemble exclusively features actors with sensory disabilities, and the centre’s school of performing arts offers accessible, long-term professional training.
The centre’s comprehensive approach, which integrates employment, education, and public engagement, has created an inclusive environment that challenges societal norms. Notably, it has also influenced public policies, leading to partnerships with government ministries to promote inclusive employment in the arts and culture sector.

Funding, Outlook and Transferability

The centre has grown substantially over the past years, having welcomes over a million visitors by 2024. The Na Laga’at Center’s funding model is comprised of 20 per cent donations from foundations, corporations, and individuals; 20 per cent government support through subsidies and cultural funding programmes; and 60 per cent self-generated income from ticket sales, the restaurant, events, and workshops. The centre aims to replicate its model in other Israeli cities and across Europe. Comprehensive operational guidelines and training programmes have been developed to facilitate this expansion. (Zero Project Awardee 2025)

Pictures

The Na Laga’at Center features a professional theatre with deaf, blind, and deafblind actors.

The Na Laga’at Center features a professional theatre with deaf, blind, and deafblind actors.

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