Art festival offers new views of Jerusalem
The ninth year of Manofim, a focus on contemporary art spaces and artists, takes off this week
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Panoramic views of Jerusalem, one-on-one meetings with artists, an all-day conference and daily musical events with local bands are some of the highlights of the upcoming Manofim Festival celebrating contemporary art in the city.
The festival, made up of gallery viewings and artist talks in a variety of galleries, museums and spaces around the city, is shorter than in the past, running five days October 24-28 rather than the usual eight.
“It’s more concentrated,” said Rinat Edelstein, who, along with Lee He Shulov, founded the festival nine years ago. The two now direct and curate the festival together.
The opening event and main exhibition is taking place at the Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies at the Brigham Young University campus on Mount Scopus, with its spectacular, panoramic views from the Dead Sea in the east, to Jerusalem’s Old City in the west, and beyond.
A lineup of 16 local artists will be exhibiting at the Brigham Young Jerusalem Center at Mount Scopus, with special hours during the festival (10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday; 10-2, Thursday; and 10-4, Friday).
Among the Manofim highlights will be a Saturday morning workshop for kids with visiting artist Rodrigo Imaz, a Mexican painter and filmmaker who analyzes trash as a reflection of culture, social and economic power.
Imaz will be screening his film “Juan Perros” at the Jerusalem Cinematheque on Saturday, and conducting a morning workshop with kids, making toys and art objects out of recycled materials.
Another Saturday workshop is with Nino Biniashvili of Georgia, who wrote the graphic novel “On the Edge of the Black Sea” and is working at the Art Cube Artists’ Studio in Talpiot.
Advance registration is required for both workshops through the Jerusalem Cinematheque website or by calling *9377.
The Jerusalem Art Conference takes place on Wednesday at Hansen House, and includes a keynote session with artist Mierle Laderman Ukeles, who was the official, unsalaried artist in residence of the New York City Department of Sanitation and now lives in Jerusalem.
Also on the agenda is “The Pianist,” an electro-acoustic painting performance by Adi Kaplan and Shahar Karmel at Hansen House on Wednesday, as well as nocturnal tours on Thursday at the Clal Building and at HaMiffal.
Friday brings artists’ appointments, intimate one-on-one sessions with artists working in or around Talpiot, an industrial neighborhood that was the original home of Manofim. The artists will be in-house at their studios in the ArtCube in Talpiot, Teddy Artists’ Studios in Teddy Stadium and the Studio of Her Own in Talpiot, with free shuttle service between the studios every 30 minutes.
The artist’s appointments must be pre-booked through the Manofim website or at tolaman2017@gmail.com.
The final event is the Salon Party on Saturday night at the Art Cube Artist’s Studios, featuring music, cocktails, red wine and art.
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