Manofim 2021

“The form of a city changes faster, alas! than a mortal’s heart” wrote the poet Charles Baudelaire. To understand the city, its transformations, what is happening in it in the present moment, one must slow down, look at its sights, recall. The main event of the 2021 Manofim Festival took place along the route of Park HaMesila in Jerusalem. This was a walking event that invited the public to explore the park and its surroundings, get to know the landscapes and neighborhoods it traverses, meet the people who live alongside it, go on a journey inside the city, and accumulate experiences through human interactions and sights. 

Park HaMesila stretches over about six kilometers, crossing Baka, the German Colony, Makor Chaim, Katamon, Talpiot, Beit Safafa, and Malha neighborhoods before it connects to Jerusalem Park leading to the Biblical Zoo. Many will attest that since its establishment in 2010 it has transformed the southern part of the city beyond recognition: walking distances were shortened, neighborhoods and populations were connected to one another, and the value of real estate in its vicinity increased. With all this in mind, the fact that this was not at all the original plan for the site is mind blowing: In fact, the plan was to allocate the land for the route of the four-lane Highway 34. The story of the park is a story of the joining of civic, planning, and environmental forces: on the one hand, the committee for Park HaMesila organized by a group of residents from Katamon neighborhood, whose civil, stubborn and creative struggle helped stop the plan to pave Highway 34 and contributed to the opening of the park. On the other hand, you have the urban renewal plan submitted by urban and environmental planners and the Jerusalem Development Authority who recognized the tremendous potential in this piece of land. From the convergence of these initiatives in one point in time emerged one of the most special locations in Jerusalem today. Walking along Park HaMesila unfolds the tale of the contemporary city, which touches on history and renewal, territorial and real estate issues, questions of nature preservation, population diversity and more. 

What used to exist along the train tracks? Where is the park headed in the future? For one night only, the public was invited to join a walking journey along Park HaMesila, got to know its historical and contemporary story, walked its main route and deviated from it, watched and took part in art performances, cross the straight road and enter homes, met the people who live around and along the park and got to know their stories, disturbed the automatic, purposeful walk, wandered around the city and re-experienced the familiar.

Among the participating are: Public Movement, Yasmeen Godder, C.a.t.a.m.o.n Dance Group in Jerusalem: Elad Schechter and Rand Taha, Alit Kreiz and Hilli Waterman, Arava Assaf , Daphna Yalon, Noa Dar and Michal Samama, and more. Among the community Yossi Saidov, Prof. Kimmy Caplan, כולנא ירושלים كلنا مقدسين Kulna Jerusalem: Dror Amedi and Iyad Abu Shama, Eytan Shouker, Shalom Bogoslovsky, Eran Tzidkiyahu, Marik Shtern, Amir Balaban, Guy Biran, Noah Hysler Rubin, Dr.  Channa Pinchasi, Rachelle Wiener, Moti Kaplan, Doron Ish Shalom, ‘Ohalecha’ Arts & Events Center, and more.  

Curators: Rinat Edelstein and Lee Hee Shulov
Producer: Shani Avivi
Executive Producer: Reuven Leitush

Jerusalem Art Conference #6 – Excess

In its 6th iteration, the Jerusalem Art Conference was devoted to the theme of “Excess” – a subject that holds many topical, historical, and philosophical meanings.

Contemporary life is teeming with excessiveness, surpluses, and overflows. From mental unrest to floods, from torrents of data and an ever-changing social media feed to congested roads, from time management apps through a stream of political events to real life and online shopping sprees and a diet rich with ingredients that offer zero nourishment. Even the most revolutionary moments in human history were not characterized by excess to the extent that we are witnessing today.
Excess entails questions of balance: does surplus in one place inevitably create shortage in another place? When is there too much and how does one deal with this abundance? Is excess, as philosopher Georges Bataille argues, a key factor in social and financial processes that lead to violence and wars?
Excess is also a fitting concept for thinking about Jerusalem – a city jam-packed with past, present, and future, crowded by the lingering presence of military commanders, statesmen, builders, religious leaders, artists, and poets who have been filling its physical and spiritual paths for thousands of years. In the conference we will examine the concept of “excess” and its manifestations in the local art scene alongside issues such as: art in the age of information overload, artificial intelligence and machine learning, psychedelic influences on contemporary art, psychoanalysis and the abject, excess in the art world, excess and freedom, and more.

Founded by Manofim Festival and Erev Rav and Harama Magazines, the Jerusalem Art Conference is aimed at connecting higher education institutions with artists, curators, artistic directors, and cultural practitioners. The previous conferences were devoted to the themes of “Signature,” “What Shall We Do With Art?” “Excess Demand,” “Trick,” and “The Moment of Truth.”

Artists: Inbal Hoffman, Lital Bar Noy, Hannah Bruckmüller (Austria), Noa Ginzburg, Michal B. Ron, Az-oolay, Yael Eylat Van Essen, Irit Sternberg, Ben Benhorin, Neta Moses, Jeremy Biles (U.S.A), Freedom Research Institute, Dr. Ido Hartogsohn, Anat Mandil, Rakefet Viner Omer, Tami Katz-Freiman, Yonatan Amir

Conference curators and directors: Dr. Ronen Eidelman and Yonatan Amir (“Erev Rav”), Rinat Edelstein (“Manofim”, “Harama”)
Producer: Alina Alexa Osipova

Artist Appointment // Coincidence

We were delighted to invite you to three days full of personal encounters with dozens of artists in the most beautiful gems of artmaking in Jerusalem.

This year, Artist Appointment centered around the theme of “Coincidence” – the accidental and simultaneous unfolding of two seemingly unrelated events or situations. You know how sometimes you think of something or someone you haven’t seen in forever, just for them to then suddenly pop into your reality? Is it a miracle? Magic? Or is it merely the result of probabilistic causation? And what happens when uncontrolled forces permeate the artist’s studio or personal life, upturning their work practice and life orders? How should they be treated? Does the unknown open a door to a different, more experimental experience? The artists you met talked about coincidences, asked whether it is possible to summon coincidences, and to what extent luck plays a role in the creation of the artwork.

Curator: Hadassah Cohen
Assistant Curator and Producer:  Alona Apkarian
Manofim Artistic Directors: Rinat Edelstein and Lee He Shulov

We invited you and your family to enjoy creative events and workshops in Jerusalem’s galleries and HaMesila Park. The workshops offered children and their parents a shared art viewing experience and special creative activities inspired by the various exhibitions, for a colorful art experience that breathed life into the white walls and quiet spaces!
The workshops were suitable for children ages 6-10

Dream Landscapes – Sculpture Workshop for Children and Their Parents
Following the exhibition “Mundane Heights” at the Ticho House
In the exhibition “Mundane Heights,” artist Inbal Hoffman made surprising connections between everyday materials found in every home to create dreamlike landscapes and sculptures. In the workshop, inspired by the exhibition, we invited families to work together with plaster alongside mundane, everyday items and materials to create imaginary places they would like to visit.

The Stories of Symbols
Following the exhibitions at the New Gallery – Artists’ Studios Teddy
Everywhere we look we see symbols: sports team logos, car emblems, fashion brand logos, national emblems and more. In the workshop we tapped into the world of shapes, work with stencils and images in layers, and created our own symbols.

When the Wall Speaks to Us
Following the exhibition “Talking to the Wall” at HaCubia Gallery
Most walls don’t talk much, but sometimes you come across a wall that speaks volumes. In the workshop, we learned how to paint on walls, got to know famous historical painters and the huge murals they painted around the world, and learned how to take a small painting and turn it into a large painting. 

Water Magic
Watercolor workshop for children and their parents, inspired by the paintings of artist Hanita Ilan. In the workshop we were familiarized with watercolors and how to use their special and exciting properties: spreading, transparency, dripping, and flowing. We discovered the beauty and secrets summoned by the movement of color in the water, played with chance and coincidence, and expanded our imagination and creativity.

Program Curator: The artist Shay Persil
Workshops Creators and Instructors: The designer Davíd Raphael Lockard & the artist Rachel Kainy
Producer: Alina Alexa Osipova

After a year of watching shows on digital platforms, the stars were alligned and the Manofim Festival returned with a series of live and invigorating performances. Surprising combinations, hot locations, and a special release show!

Performances List:
27.10 | The Mixer – Rasco ft. UBK
28.10 | The Mixer – Gal de Paz – Intimate Piano Show
29.10 | The Mixer – Uzi Navon Soul Jazz – “The Uzi Navon Legacy” Release Show

Artistic director: Noa Melamed Vazana
Producer: Alina Alexa Osipova
Manofim Festival artistic director: Rinat Edelstein

Manofim Festival offered the public guided tours of select exhibitions on view in galleries throughout Jerusalem.

The tours were led by Dveer Shaked, the curator of Koresh 14 Gallery, local history buff and an art tour guide.

Along HaNevi’im Street
Jerusalem Print Workshop-Hadassah College-Ticho House
In the tour, we visited three long standing art institutions in Jerusalem. We started at the Jerusalem Print Workshop, where we visited Lilian Klapische’s solo exhibition “Choses vues” by artist Lilian Klapische (curator: Arik Kilemnik). From there we continued to Hadassah College and the group exhibition “A Stone’s Throw Away,” which spans the two galleries at the college – Azrieli Gallery and the Yossi Nachmias Photography Gallery in the Department of Photographic Communication (curators: Tali Kayam and Doron Altaratz). We ended the tour with “Mundane Heights,” the solo exhibition of artist Inbal Hoffman at the nearby Ticho House (curator: Shua Ben-Ari).

Kingsroad
Koresh 14-Gerem-Barbur-HaMifal
In this tour we visited four galleries. We started at Koresh 14 with the group exhibition “Fool’s Gold” that explores provincialism in Israeli art (curator: Dveer Shaked). We continueed to the solo exhibition “GEREM #08″ of Shani Reches at GEREM art space (curator: Sivan Ashel), and from there we moveed to the neighboring Barbur Gallery with Reut Yeshayahu’s solo exhibition “Bright as Day, Dark as Night,” curated by Avi Sabah. We ended the tour at HaMifal with “Kumzits” a collaborative project by HaMifal, the Jewish Festival in Krakow, and the Curatorial Collective for Public Art, CCPA (Berlin), which features artists working in Krakow, Berlin and Jerusalem.

HaTurim
Marie Gallery- Agripas 12-Beita-The Art Shelter
The tour focused on Mahane Yehuda Market area and the galleries around it. At Marie Gallery we visited “Homage,” a group exhibition in which the gallery members pay tribute to famous artists and artworks (curator: Arye Berkowitz). From there we continued to the nearby Agripas 12 Gallery, where we visited the solo exhibition of artist Sarah Nina Meridor “Fine Structure Constant” (curator: Albert Swisa). We then moved on to Beita Gallery, where we toured the group show “The Top of the Iceberg,” curated by Avital Wexler. We ended the tour at The Art Shelter Gallery, the first gallery in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood (Makor Baruch neighborhood), with “Capturing Contrasts” – a duo exhibition that brings together artists Mira Maylor and Racheli Tauber and their very different worlds.