Somewhere between performance and installation, theatre, commerce and conversation, there is the market. While Bezalel, Carmel and the Jaffa flea market are all worth exploring, the Blackmarket, open for one night only, this Saturday, September 26th at the Jewish-Arabic Center in Jaffa, offers something different. 100 experts in a variety of fields will be available to the public, to convey something of their knowledge that can be expressed in 30 minutes.
A project of Hannah Hurtzig/Mobile Academy, with changing partners based at Hebbel Theatre/HAU Berlin, Blackmarket is co-produced with the Israeli Center for Digital Art, arriving in Israel after a tour that includes: Berlin, Vienna, Istanbul, Hamburg, Graetz, Liverpool and Warsaw. In each city, a topic is selected that relates to the historical and social context. Jaffa’s focus will be “On Invisible, Unknown and Ghostly Knowledge.” Providing access to information on people, stories and ideas that are not usually represented in the public arena, that have been suppressed or denied, employing “indivisibility” and “ghostliness” as a metaphor for these elements that exist, yet are not usually acknowledged or given expression. The project reveals cultural, social and political models that have been forgotten or ignored, memories, stories, ideas and concepts that have been willfully forgotten, censored or misunderstood, with the aim of generating dialogue and communication.
Creating an environment somewhere between a library reading room, counseling session and market place, experts sit at tables and audience members can sign up for thirty minute sessions with the expert of their choice at a cost of 5 NIS per session, or listen to ongoing conversations through headphones. The experts are many and varied. Nabih Bashir, a PhD candidate in the department of Jewish Thought, Hebrew University, Jerusalem will discuss “The Development of Mediaeval Judaic Exegesis under Islamic Culture. Frau Blau is Helena Baunstein and Philip Blau’s fashion brand and they will explain “How to Create a Whole Wardrobe out of Two Shirts – A Workshop Based on the ‘Double Trouble’ Design.” Yohannes Bayu is an officially recognized refugee living in Israel for 12 years, who will discuss “How Do Refugees Contribute to Israeli Society?”
Choreographer Arkadi Zaides, who will be part of the event, watching over 8 tables of experts, says, “It is an event that focuses entirely on communication. In my own creative work I am involved with issues of Arab-Jewish communication; I wanted to take part in it. I think it is a form of performance that is accessible to a far larger number of people. It’s an opportunity to talk to people whom you would never encounter otherwise. Anything can happen here – it’s just like a market. What happens when the person you wanted to talk to is already taken?” Registration for sessions begins at 18:00 and the number of available sessions is indeed limited, so it is recommended to arrive early.
Saturday, September 26, from 19:00 to 23:00, Reception at 18:00
The Jewish-Arabic Center in Jaffa, 109 Kedem Street
Entrance free, book an expert for 5 NIS
Blackmarket is a production of the Israeli Center for Digital Art, AYAM – Recognition and Dialogue, Goethe-Institut Israel, and FAZA/Supported by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Israel Lottery Council for Culture and Art, The Arts Department of Tel Aviv Municipality, The Polish Institute, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Ha’aretz.
