New culture to greet the new year
Museum and gallery exhibitions open across Israel, and festivals kick off, as the Jewish holidays approach
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
After a summer of canceled events and a slower cultural calendar in Israel, it feels good to be thinking about museum exhibits and gallery openings, pop-up shops and music festivals.
There’s a host of events taking place over the next few weeks, and the calendar will fill up as the month of holidays gets closer. But if you can’t make it out now, not to worry, many of the exhibits will be around for several months.
1) Start it up with Friday’s Festival “Shtemesrey,” local lingo for “12,” or shtem estrey. It’s all about the number 12 for this 12-hour festival, on September 12, featuring 12 artists and 12 bands for just NIS 12. It’s the fourth time that 12 Rothschild — the club located, yes, at 12 Rothschild Boulevard — is running the festival, in conjunction with other local venues. The musicians include Shai Tsabari, Reif Cohen and Acollective.
“Shtemesrey,” Friday, 12 p.m. through midnight, 12 Rothschild, NIS 12 entry.
2) Need another quizzically named Tel Aviv event? How about Maarivta? Named for its location, in Tel Aviv’s famed Beit Maariv — where the tabloid newspaper once had its offices — Maarivta is an eight-day pop-up shop of 50 different designers selling their summer collections and offering a peek at winter collections. There will also be stylists on hand to help figure out outfits, and entry is free.
Maarivta, September 17-24, 2 Carlebach Street, Tel Aviv.
3) If you’re trying out a new project this year and are tired of working from home, consider working at Mindspace, a creative, cooperative workspace on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv, designed for freelancers, entrepreneurs, start-ups and small companies. With meeting rooms, chill-out spaces, bike racks and a shared coffee bar and kitchen — not to mention WiFi, photocopying and scanning, and 153 new work stations — this is the kind of place that can get your creative juices flowing.
Mindspace, 45 Rothschild Boulevard.
4) There are some interesting new exhibits opening over the next few weeks. The latest exhibit at the Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, titled “Back to Berlin,” features works by international and Israeli artists whose latest ideas have been affected by time spent in Berlin and dealing with its history. (Opening September 20, closing January 17, 2015.) At the Haifa City Museum, an exhibit opening at the end of September will show the photographs of Ze’ev (Wilhelm) Aleksandrowicz, a tourist and photographer who visited Mandatory Palestine in the 1930s and traveled the country, capturing images in Haifa, Jerusalem, Jericho, Jaffa and Tiberias. (Opening September 28, closing March 1, 2015.)
5) Still need a vacation? Consider heading to the Phasa Morgana Festival, a three-day music-and-movement event in Timna Park, from September 18-21. It starts with Balkan Beat Box on Thursday, continues with the Israel Ballet on Friday and concludes with Yehuka Poliker hosting Gidi Gov and Berry Sakharoff on Saturday. The Isrotel chain of hotels is offering a variety of packages at their hotels in Eilat and the Dead Sea for the festival weekend.
“Phasa Morgana,” September 18-21, Timna Park.
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