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Carolina Hait
Digital Journalist | @carolinehaiat
Hundreds of artistic minds have joined a seedy community known for prostitution, drugs and violence in one of Israel’s greatest places.
In the south of the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv, a seedy community known for prostitution, drugs and violence is one of the most fashionable places in the country.
Kiryat Hamelacha has grown in the last 4 years thanks to the determination and hard paintings of Revital Ben-Asher Peretz, artistic advisor to the mayor of Tel Aviv, who has set himself the purpose of transforming the community from an unattractive position to a lively one. One. artistic polo.
i24NEWS spoke with those who are leading this small urban revolution, living together in a personal neighborhood. More than 420 artists of all genres, from creators to dancers, musicians, choreographers and theater actors rub shoulders with artisans, locksmiths, carpenters. , printers and seamstresses. Thirty galleries have also been installed there, adding some of the maxims known in Israel.
The neighborhood, which stretches for about 39,000 feet, is full of graffiti, color and light.
About two weeks ago he opened a fashionable and colorful center there called “The Block”. Many cafes and restaurants have also begun to attract the curious, such as “Joy ve Loz”, where the menu does not bring price, because those who dine there give what they need at the end of their meal.
a project
“When I discovered this component of the city, I had a real weight and without delay I started recruiting artists through word of mouth and social media,” Peretz told i24NEWS. “My project to make this neighborhood, which has serious security issues, the Garden of Eden for artists in Tel Aviv and more broadly in Israel. “
Kiryat Hamelacha erected in 1959, with a brutalist architectural taste intended for small businesses and factories. In his time, no one imagined that it would be a popular landmark for artists.
Revital is waging a hard fight, day and night, to relieve the municipality of the obligatory investment to repair the symbol of the neighborhood, while convincing of its prospective to an authentic nursery of art, where culture, crafts and commerce are combined like nowhere else. .
“I am fighting for artists from Tel Aviv to stay in Israel and not go into exile in Europe,” Peretz continued.
“For me, it is essential to create a position for them where they can develop their creativity. Artists are key and influential people in cities because they generate gentrification and community development. If we lose them, we lose not only the essence of Tel Aviv, but also a lot of money.
Plurality of art
In a WeWork copainting space, 16 artists paint on another media bureaucracy: layers, sculptures, photos, felt drawings on transparent paper or paintings of tree branches, techniques that are combined in the same complex. The artists also share special moments in combination in the dining room they have renamed “Café de Flore”, where they talk about politics and art to make inspiration fruitful.
Originally from Argentina but having lived in Israel for decades, Suzi Shumowitz is an artist who creates collages, photographs and paintings around a unique theme: the invisible.
“I try to highlight what you don’t see, what the scenes are because that’s the most important thing. I like to highlight the good looks and aesthetics of things that aren’t necessarily at first glance,” he told i24NEWS.
WeWork artists have signed a letter with the city council that requires them to paint in the studio 8 hours a day, six days a week. They are not allowed to teach, rent or sell their paintings on Array. In an industry where it’s tricky to make a living, Peretz painting for creators as the head of promotional policy for Keren Plumas, an organization that promotes artists’ rights in Israel.
Ceramics in the spotlight
Among Kiryat Hamelacha’s top attractions is the Benyamini Ceramics Center, run by Marcelle Klein for over 11 years. It has workshops, art galleries and a library where reference is made to Israeli ceramic archives.
“The goal of this area is to announce activities around ceramics,” Klein told i24NEWS.
“We have a ceramics school, where we give courses for beginners and more advanced, and we will also be offering a three-year course with a certificate. Young artists who are still in education have the opportunity to rent a studio for a year and can thus build a book coping.
Lectures and workshops are also organized by local and foreign artists.
Eclectic concerts
The Annette-Céline studio, directed by Idit Magal, delights lovers of shows, concerts and festivals. Renovated by the Covid pandemic, this fashionable corridor welcomes up to 120 spectators almost every night.
“This position is a commitment to the many musical teams that come to perform there. We will be offering the public concerts of jazz, classical or ethnic music,” Magal told i24NEWS.
On the same street, the Hameretz 2 Theatre offers experimental plays, some of which are performed only once, while on weekends the venue becomes a disco for young people. Asaf Hameiri, manufacturer and theatre director, guarantees that a special atmosphere reigns in the venue. Multidisciplinary room, a real springboard for talented actors at the beginning of their careers.
“We set up this theater about a year and a half ago to offer local productions. I liked the taste of this neighborhood, which suited me perfectly and adhered to the spirit of our art. In Kiryat Hamelacha, there is a genuine nightlife, and other people love the concept of individual function rooms that then disappear,” Hameiri said.
Cultural Center
In October 2021, Peretz inaugurated the network center “Ta tarbout Kiryat Hamelacha”, which serves as a center for artists and tourist office, belonging to the Department of Culture of the municipality of Tel Aviv.
The center’s worker, Lee Barbu, told i24NEWS that he organizes events, workshops for schools and conferences.
“In recent years, Kiryat Hamelacha has a staple of the Israeli cultural scene. We are in contact with the many artists who pass through this domain and can use our facilities to organize photo shoots or interviews, for example. Finally, we list all the data on the unmissable occasions and they constitute a kind of cultural agenda,” he said.
No one has the right to build in the personal area reserved for art teachers. Only a few offices are rented on the ground floor of the buildings. At Peretz’s request, the roads were also expropriated.
Within two weeks, renovations valued at more than $24 million will modernize the neighborhood’s urban plans in small ways: trees, benches and pedestrian spaces will be added to make it even more attractive.
“I don’t need this position to get too touristy. . . however, I need it to retain its authenticity and not be too distorted with large-scale renovations,” Peretz said.
Without missing the initiatives, Peretz is lately executing in parallel a pilot assignment with the city council, to create its television channel with systems committed to the city of Tel Aviv.
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