Summer is just around the corner, and the Jerusalem Season of Culture (JSOC) is entering its second edition with the return of events that have become some of Midnight East’s favorite summer traditions – like Balabasta Mondays at the Mahne Yehuda Market, and Contact Point at the Israel Museum – and some exciting new features.
Designer Ron Arad’s Curtain Call will come to the Israel Museum garden from mid-August to September 4, 2012. The unusual installation is a suspended round curtain of white silicon rods, 8 meters high, creating a 360° screen on which films by Christian Marclay, Mat Collishaw, Ori Gersht and other artists will be projected. Visitors can walk around and inside the circle, with the projections visible from every vantage point. But that’s not all: every night, at some unannounced point, there will be a performance inside the circle – dance, music, theatre – by what the JSOC team promises will be an impressive line-up of artists.
Speaking of artists, a pilgrimage led by Guy Briller will be making its way on foot from Neve Shalom to Jerusalem, conversing and creating along the way from June 21 – 27, 2012. Their journey will be broadcast live on a dedicated internet site, and once they arrive in Jerusalem they will set up a 24 hour tent exhibition of their works.
The In House Festival will return from July 3 – 6, 2012 with new artists and new works, under the artistic direction of Dafna Kron. Site specific works will be performed in Jerusalem homes and buildings. Among the participating artists are Ola Shur Selektar and Micha Selektar, Emmanuela Amichai, and Yael Deckelbaum in a special performance with “The Taverners” – her late father David’s band.
Contact Point will take place on July 12, 2012 at the Israel Museum with a new artistic director, Renana Raz. The participating artists have been spending time at the museum over the past months, becoming acquainted with the collection and finding the rooms and objects that spark a connection. Diverse site specific works created in dialogue with works in the museum will be performed by the participating artists: Rona Kenan, Alex Epstein, Eran Sabag, Noam Inbar, Yoav Kutner, Benny Bashan, Itzik Weingarten, Uri Kinrot, Noa Shadur, Eli Petel and students of the Bezalel Fine Arts Department, Ishai Adar, Tal Kalai, Ofer Amram, Shai Id Aloni and others.
Under the Mountain is a completely different, subversive set of activities that will take place from July 30 to August 4, 2012 with Artistic Director Omer Krieger at the helm. This year’s focus will be on the public-performance aspect of Jerusalem, with performances, workshops and encounters intended to function as the mythological “city square” of days gone by. The schedule will include recurring daily events like “Pre-politics Yoga” and workshops on different topics, followed by performances at night. “Political Karaoke” is sure to be a hit, with a selection of 50 political speeches. The festival will end with a protest march through the streets of Jerusalem, collaboratively designed by the festival artists and the general public.
Warm up for the festival at the Bezalel, Yaffo 23/Jerusalem exhibition from July 14 – August 4, 2012 on “Experiments in Techniques of Awakening.” There, in a space designed by Michal Helfman, Jerusalem protest groups will meet for political performances open to the public. Participants will include: Dr. Roy Brand, Michal Helfman, the Muslala Group, Public Movement, and more.
Gabriella Barouch, a recent graduate of the Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design, Jerusalem is the Jerusalem Season of Culture’s Artist of the Season. Gabriella has been wandering through the streets of Jerusalem with her sketchbook; this visual journal of her impressions of the city will be published in book form and online. During the season, visitors will be able to walk with Gabriella on a tour of her Jerusalem.
The Jerusalem Sacred Music Festival will take place September 6 & 7, 2012 in different venues throughout the city. Gil Ron Shama and Gil Karniel are co-artistic directors for this project, with Gil Karniel and Omri Sharir providing vision and creative direction.
Balabasta will be back in August! Walk through the Mahne Yehuda Market on Mondays in August, and discover its secret corners and surprises. Artistic Directors and Producers Kobi Frig and Ido Levitt have done an amazing job for the past two years, bringing music, art and performance into the market, in harmony with the fruits, vegetables and other offerings of the Shuk.
Jerusalem in summer – I can’t wait!
Links: Jerusalem Season of Culture site, Jerusalem Season of Culture Facebook page.
