Manofim art festival gives a boost to Jerusalem’s creative scene

At the opening of the Manofim contemporary art festival on Tuesday night, four performers stood in the shade of the Alexander Calder sculpture overlooking the Jerusalem Forest.

They are “Vacuum Service,” a performance group that uses choreography in artistic spaces that require attention.

The four performers swept the littered plaza around the red steel sculpture, which weighs about 65 tons and was erected in 1977 on Mount Herzl to contrast with the hilly landscape across the valley.

Now surrounded by a busy intersection, parallel to the red line of the light rail system, the sculpture is covered with graffiti. The performance is meant to draw attention to this work of art.

It’s part of the Manofim Festival, currently in its 18th year, running July 14-18, and offering a deeper look at what Jerusalem creatives are working on in artwork and performances in art, music and stage.

Artists Lee Hai Shulov and Rinat Edelstein developed Manofim 18 years ago, working together with dozens of galleries, cultural institutions and hundreds of artists across disciplines.

The Hebrew word manofim means construction cranes, which dot the skyline and symbolize the artists’ desire to lift Jerusalem’s art scene to see different views of the city.

A focal point of the festival is the Art Cube Artists’ Studios in Talpiot, where the festival was first situated and where visitors can peer into open studios of working artists, visit exhibits, and attend events in the rooftop venue.

Among the Art Cube exhibits is “Four Cubits” by Yael Serlin, reflecting on the recent death of her son during his army service through installations combining household items, Judaica, animation and video.

In “Gel Culture Research” at the Shaham Culture Lab in Independence Park, artists examine nail art as a phenomenon of identity, gender, power and contemporary Israeli culture.

One of the repeat Manofim performances is “Rear Cow” by artist Guy Dolev, a staged video documentary examining the Armenian community’s struggle to preserve the historic Cow Garden in the Old City, after the Armenian Patriarchate leased the site to a private developer for a luxury hotel in a controversial deal.

Visitors can walk a short distance from the Art Cube Studios to interdisciplinary performance collective Zik in the former Rav Chen mall, where they are presenting “Zik Galaxy,” a celebration marking 40 years of the theater.

Live music performances will be held on the Artists Cube rooftop venue on Thursday night, July 16, and Saturday night, July 17.

Indie musician Gedy Ronen will perform with alternative band Devek on July 16, while The Jimmy Prasad Orchestra, with musicians Jimmy Prasad, Avishai Cohen (the trumpeter), and Rejoycer, will perform a deep dive into sound on Saturday night.

For the full schedule, which includes art exhibit tours and talks on Friday and Saturday, visit the Manofim website.