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As vibrant as it is, Jerusalem's contemporary visual arts scene is all too often overlooked. Wary of competing for our attention against Jerusalem's more renowned dynamic features, the leadership of the city's gallery spaces have joined forces in a unified effort to put the art in front of our faces. The Manofim art series kicks off the fall creative season later this month with a week of free exhibitions and events in a variety of neighborhoods.

"The point of Manofim is to show the art that is all over Jerusalem the whole year round," says Rinat Edelstein, an artist who is also one of the organizers of the Manofim initiative, which is now in its third year running. "There is so much. It's not just this week, but we want people to come visit the exhibits all year round. This week is just a representation of what's available the whole year."

The art exhibits range from tried and true paintings to experimental stage performances and pretty much everything in between. Each day of activity has a new locale and a new focus. "It's inspired by history, by all the things that are important in Jerusalem," Edelstein, who believes the project has major importance to the city's future, explains to GoJerusalem.com.

The festival kicks off on a Thursday night with more than 25 galleries opening all around the city. On Friday, Talpiot gets the spotlight with artwork and workshops in the area more known for its industrial zone and big box shopping than its galleries. Saturday may be a day of rest for much of Jerusalem, but in Ein Kerem, the beat rolls on, as the village, in conjunction with nearby Mevasseret Zion, hosts a performance by the Zik Group, which combines music, movement and sculpture.

On Sunday, it's Mishkenot Sha'ananim's turn to shine, with galleries showing off their works and a special performance by the city's art department at the Khan Theater's courtyard. On Monday, the party moves on to Jaffa Road, downtown's main thoroughfare, with a number of exhibits and a joint event between the Vision Gallery and Af Magazine, as well as a song night at the Ticho House.

Tuesday is the Old City's turn, with music and a special exhibit at the Tower of David and in the handicraft shops of the Christian Quarter, which are being re-painted for the occasion by a number of local artists. Michael Kesus Gedalyovich, who has overseen the Tower of David implementation, began work on the venue's 2011 Manofim exhibition a full year ago. Here, themes of history, memory, keepsakes and the marketplace converge at one hub.

Wednesday focuses on Musrara and that area's juxtaposition of disparate cultures, including a multimedia exhibit performance by Muslala called NoMan'sLand, exploring the creative baggage carried by the neighborhood. The week will close out Thursday in Nachlaot, with a number of galleries opening their doors and a multidisciplinary event featuring experimental art outfits Kama Sukar, No Coast and Yoram Amir's subversive Jerusalem Burglar Gallery space.

This year's Manofim is also turning the volume up to 11, with a sub-festival devoted to mockumentary film, the first of its kind in the country. "The mockumentary is a genre that doesn't get a lot of attention, and there's a lot happening in it. So we really wanted to highlight it, give it a stage," says Edelstein.

The festival, which kicks off November 1st and run through November 26th, features mockumentaries both old and new, and one lucky director whose film is picked as the best can win a cool $1,000. To Eidelstein, Jerusalem, which means so much to so many different people in so many ways, is the perfect place to hold a mockumentary festival. "It straddles line between fiction and reality," she explains. "In Jerusalem, everyone can say that they imagine their own Jerusalem."