Hanut 31
I want to offer you a new(ish) venue in Tel Aviv – Hanut 31, which is on Rechov HaAliyah 31….. this crazy tiny little venue is slowly upgrading from what used to look like a deserted shell of a shop with weird stuff in the window, to what is now a clear performance venue, including an electronic poster-board announcing what is happening. They specialize in Object Theater, and dance, and other (very small) performance work. This is a classic place to go check out if you are interested in checking out the sub-culture of the sub-culture in the Tel Aviv scene….
Matsav Mishpachti – Family Affair – Eretz Yisrael Museum
Opening 2 November – curator – Galia Gur Zeev – this remarkable newspaper column that ran for many years in Haaretz and now runs in Maariv – created by Reli and Avner Avrahami – now to be a temporary exhibit in the Eretz Yisrael Museum in Ramat Aviv – “For a decade photographer Reli Avrahami and journalist Avner Avrahami’s page, Relatively Speaking, was published in Haaretz. Recently it moved to Maariv. The two visited the homes of hundreds of families in Israel, documenting their history, way of life, homes, beliefs, and dreams. Following numerous requests sent to the paper’s editorial board, the definition of the page was expanded to ‘all those living under one roof.’ Thus the gates opened to those sharing rented apartments, incarcerated in prison, living in detox facilities, members of pre-army communes, etc. The photographs are a point of departure for the accompanying text, which takes the reader back to the photograph for additional and deeper inspection.”
Cabinets of Wonder in Contemporary Art – From Astonishment to Disenchantment
Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art – “Cabinets of wonder were part of a European tradition of collecting practiced by aristocrats and other wealthy individuals from the 16th to the 18th century. These exhibition spaces held encyclopedic displays of strange, disturbing, surprising and exotic objects, which attested to the wealth and power of their owners. The current exhibition centers on contemporary artworks that are concerned with subjects similar to those featured in historical cabinets of wonder. This exhibition suggests that such contemporary artworks present a world view different than the one that shaped early cabinets of wonder – one impacted by the far-reaching changes that have reshaped the world and by the dramatic shift in our perception of it.”
Trouble in the Israeli Fashion Scene
As Tel Aviv was preparing to hold its second Fashion Week this year, promising “to show to the world the breadth of design creativity of our talented Israeli fashion designers,” the industry was abuzz this week with word of a rift: Ofir Lev and Motty Reif, the businessmen behind the initiative, announced Monday that they would go their separate ways and hold two competing events a couple of weeks apart. The one headed by Lev, which opens on Nov. 11, will still be called Tel Aviv Fashion Week (or “TLV Fashion Week”) but will now be stripped of the participation of Israel’s leading designers, such as Dorin Frankfurt, Gideon and Karen Oberson, Dorit (Dodo) Bar Or for “Pas Pour Toi,” Tovale, and others. These designers will instead take part in Reif’s event, which opens on Nov. 26 and is named “Gindi Week Tel Aviv” after its corporate sponsors. Lev could not be immediately reached for comment. Reif, through a publicist, told me that the decision to split stemmed from “business disagreements” between him and Lev and refused to elaborate.
Dani Karavan’s Memorial to the Sinti and Roma murdered by the Nazis is unveiled in Berlin
The Israeli artist’s memorial is situated close to the already standing memorial to the murder of 6 million Jews, as well as the separate memorial to homosexuals murdered in The Third Reich. These will be joined in the future by an additional memorial to the “disabled and mentally ill” German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced at the unveiling of Karavan’s work. Of course it is an interesting point of discussion why there has to be a separate memorial for each…. I know, I know, controversial thought, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think it…… full article here.
Teatron Tmuna – stuff you should really be checking out
Full information at http://www.tmu-na.org.il/ – Movement Without Borders – Sunday 18 November – 22:00 – inspired by the workshops and performance happening this week by the Austrian choreographer Philip Gehmacher – the evening is a panel discussion about the place of Israeli dance in the region and the global context – Mein Jerusalem – The Sabina Sauber Show – Saturday 10 November 20:00 (one woman show in English) – Zo Hi HaAretz (This is the Land) – Saturday 17 November at 14:00 and 20:00 – three imaginary Israeli artists respond to the Ministry of Culture Prize for Artistic Work Promoting Zionism (as created by Limor Livnat) – Paved Life – Saturday 24 November 20:00 – choreography by Rotem Tashach – “the invention of the built floor approximately 10,000 years ago completely changed the way that the human race moves around. Prior to the floor we had to make our way through a 3D landscape full of obstacles. The floor, a 2D concept, makes our movement more efficient, but also maximally standardized.” This dance and text work examines the impact of the floor on our lives as humans, as dancers, as dancing humans. – Move # 1.2: Walk & Talk No. 13 – Friday 30 November 20:30 and Saturday 1 December 20:00 – a lecture performance by Philip Gehmacher – from a previous Walk & Talk seen here below.
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/5804602#[/vimeo]
The International Women’s Film Festival – Rehovot – 5-11 November
The Piano Festival of Your Dreams – 7-11 November
Suzanne Dellal and Teatron Noga in Yaffo – take anyone who is anyone in the Israeli pop and rock scene, place them next to a grand piano in an intimate environment – and there you have it – this fantastic musical event – full program here.
The Yiddish Treasure Trove YUNG YIDISH Reopens in the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station
This is undoubtedly one of the crazier venues in Tel Aviv, set in the back corridors of Egged, this huge space is like something you have never seen before. After a long period of closure due to lack of funds, they have just reopened, and are simply open with huge debts. If you want a crazy experience, go have a coffee with Mendy. You don’t need to be a Yiddish speaker – “Founded in 1993 by Mendy Cahan, YUNG YiDiSH is a non-profit organization that set for itself the purpose of preserving and transmitting Yiddish culture, as well as encouraging contemporary Yiddish creativity in its various forms. The organization’s members and friends consider Yiddish a language alive, an essential ingredient of our cultural heritage to be fostered by looking both back and forward.”
