Jerusalem Photography – The Real Jerusalem Streets

Jerusalem Biennale 2019 – For Heaven’s Sake!

November 13, 2019November 13, 2019Sharon A

What a week in Jerusalem the weather was warm and wonderful.

Many things happened over the Sukkot holiday and even more after the holidays.

But the Jerusalem Biennale 2019, לשם שמים – For Heaven’s Sake! with 500 pieces of art, by 200 artists in 13 locations began before Sukkot and is still going for another two weeks. The Jerusalem Biennale began in 2013,

grew in 2015,

and was bigger and better in 2017.

After posting a few Biennale photos, I received the following message from Hillel Smith, curator of the Jewish Street Art Festival at First Station:

“As part of the Jewish Street Art Festival (more info at jewishstreetart.com) street artists from around the world painted 17 murals in three locations around Jerusalem. Besides First Station, we also painted at the Artists’ Colony and the Schechter Institute. All of our artists already work with Jewish themes in their art, and I wanted to highlight this effort by bringing them all together to paint at the Biennale. Unlike the other exhibitions, the art in ours was created on-site and will be permanently displayed, leaving a lasting mark on the city.”

These murals are by artists Yitzchok Moully (reflective sukkah) and Solomon Sousa, of Machane Yehuda Market mural fame.

An 18th mural was being painted this week at First Station, by artist Bareket Kezwer. I didn’t get there to see her paint, but something to check out soon.

The Jerusalem YMCA is a new and prominent Biennale location.

The initial press tour began at the Y with founder and director Ram Ozeri explaining his vision.

Inside on one side of the old YMCA pool is an installation ‘Waterfall’ by Marina Abramovic.

Across from it are hundreds of hand-painted fish by Andi Lavine Arnovitz.

One fish flows in the opposite direction, in her installation titled ‘I’m Not’.

The main room in the YMCA hosts Ziara: Moroccan Common Wisdom.

Curator Amit Hai Cohen along with seventeen other artists of Moroccan descent display a wide range of contemporary pieces.

The Moroccan heritage of ziara, feeling of home, contrasts greatly with other Arab countries where Jews were persecuted and expelled.

The day before the opening night, artists were busy at work.

For the gala opening, it was colorful and ready.

Those glasses on the table filled with arak are not for drinking, but a piece by Marcelle Biton.

The smaller line of frames to the left are fascinating portraits. Check out the feature photo at top of this page for closer look.

There is still much more to share besides Ziara at the YMCA.

The main lobby of Heichal Shlomo, by curator Dr. Shimon Lev, Evolve,

is a display of 100 works created over the past 3 years by Jean-Pierre Weill.

Upstairs in Heichal Shlomo is an exhibition on the life of Israel Dahan. His fifty years of work in creating Judaica and teaching Bezalel students are recognized.

Israelis are not the only ones featured in the Jerusalem Biennale.

Mirta Kupferminc curated Confrontation-Conversation with fellow Argentinian artists. Here she shows off the work of Jewish and not Jewish artists from Argentina with Dr. Ido Noy, deputy director of Biennale and editor of the impressive catalog for “For Heaven’s Sake.”

Also in Heichal Shlomo, everything from old Hebraica encyclopedias to

thousands of rubber bands are used to create unique pieces.

Female Waters curated by Rachel Verliebter is another exhibit in more traditional style.

Much more to see, in the other exhibitions in Heichal Shlomo, but we have to move along.

As in the past, the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute – Polonsky Hall is an impressive site of Jerusalem Biennale, with Not in Heaven and Transcendence.

Rachel Rotenberg has sculptures outside, plus this one inside Van Leer, as seen at the opening event.

Two boys caught my attention in the gardens filled with people, dancers, and art installations. I was wondering if an electronic game had captured their attention.

Oh my, all that and more we did in one afternoon!

The Menachem Begin Heritage Center has Hebrew Suffragists:100 Years.

Experiments with Truth curated by Gargi Seth is downstairs featuring Indian artists.

Not far away at Mishkenot Sha’ananim are the pieces In the East, where Ram Ozeri curated with Vera Pilpoul.

One of the new and most dramatic locations for Biennale 2019 is the Worldwide North Africa Jewish Heritage Center.

Attending the opening of Of Wonder, was special as the curator artist Mindy Weisel is a friend.

One of the more difficult venues to access, the works here are by Israeli and American artists.

For American Jewish artists to have their works recognized and displayed in Jerusalem, Israel, is a dream come true.

The Jerusalem 2019 Biennale For Heaven’s Sake! from the colorful pieces,

to the darker Holocaust shadowed pieces of art at North Africa Heritage Center,

to the reflective sukkah outside Heichal Shlomo –

only a fraction of the art and artists on display until November 28, check out the website for more information: www.jerusalembiennale.org

Browse art all day. There is an entry fee of NIS 45 to the Biennale, with the one ticket allowing access to each of the exhibitions.

Then too tired to cook?

Not to worry.

OPENRESTAURANTS™ JERUSALEM – THE URBAN CULINARY FESTIVAL runs from November 19 – 23, 2019. Many of Jerusalem’s finest restaurants have special offers.

What could be next in art and culture?

Zero One, a digital art festival will cover the Tower of David in lights from November 27-28, from 7:00 pm to midnight.

As always so much happening on the Jerusalem streets!

Jerusalem Sukkot Highlights

October 23, 2019October 23, 2019Sharon A

The fall holiday season in Jerusalem, Israel, has come to a close.

Monday night, the Jerusalem streets from First Station to the Kotel, Western Wall, to the Gur Hassidic Center, and dozens of other locations were filled with live music and tens of thousands dancing with Torahs for Hakafot Shniot.

Tourists prepared to go back to their homes, as Jerusalem fall flowers were in full bloom.

In the first year of Reuven Rivlin’s presidency, there was no line on the street outside of Beit Hanasi, the Israeli President’s Residence, for the annual Sukkah Open House.

This year 8,000 people came. For many, it was their first time inside the usually closed gates.

The theme in the President’s public sukkah was Israeli grapes.

Barrels of wine were in the sukkah this year, but no samples were offered. Artificial grapes hung from the top of the sukkah. A large wheelbarrow outside the sukkah was filled with a variety of grapes that were consumed before I thought to take a photo.

MK Zeev and Maria Elkin were at Beit Hanasi early for the intermediary days of Sukkot event.

Activities for children included making a Bar Kochba coin sponsored by the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem.

When President Rivlin made an appearance, he was surrounded by media.

Crowds were both outside and inside the main hall,

in the big sukkah,

and outside on the back lawn.

Crowds. Crowd control. Closed streets. All have becomes constants of Jerusalem holiday seasons.

Even late at night, tens of thousands of visitors walking to and from the Old City is a common Sukkot sight.

Families dressed in their best holiday clothing, day or night, head toward Jaffa Gate.

The Western Wall Heritage Foundation announced that 2.5 million people visited the Kotel, Western Wall during the month.

Perhaps not the best, but surely the biggest etrog I saw, was the size of the man’s head.

The huge sukkah in Kikar Safra, Municipal Plaza, welcomed the public.

Free, live musical concerts attracted crowds to Kikar Safra on several nights.

The list of free and fundraising concerts and events in Jerusalem was long and diverse.

Day and night the sukkot lining the light rail tracks on Jaffa Road welcomed the tired and hungry .

One Jerusalem festival was set for holiday visitors.

The 11th Manofim Jerusalem Contemporary Art Festival opens soon,

followed in November by the Oud Festival for the 20th year.

The 4th Jerusalem Biennale which opened October 10 goes through November.

There are 14 locations, 200 artists and 500 works in this Jerusalem contemporary art event.

So I will end with another view of Rabbi Yitzchok Moully’s sukkah constructed of reflective plexiglass exterior panels at Heichal Shlomo.

So many photos from Jerusalem Biennale, it needs a post of its own. Coming soon.

So much happened over Sukkot holidays, so much more happening on Jerusalem streets.

Jerusalem Sukkot Ready or Not

October 16, 2019Sharon A

Sukkot.

Ten years ago, the first RJS blog was published on Sukkot – Holiday Crowds in Jerusalem.

The holiday season crowds in Jerusalem, Israel, have arrived again.

The first day of the holiday was a beautiful day, but the next day there was a sound and and light show the likes of I have never seen in Jerusalem.

Thunder and lightning went on and on, long enough to finally get a good video on the 7th attempt.

The late President Shimon Peres hosted the Beit Hanasi open houses back in the early days of RJS.

This year President Reuven Rivlin invited children into his sukkah to help him decorate.

The Presidential Cat was in the garden to supervise.

Children were busy making decorations and paper chains.

As Sukkot holiday approaches in Jerusalem,

Lookup!

Sukkot are popping out on porches,

on a low balcony,

or on stilts to support the sukkah as it extends off the porch.

Restaurants need a large sukkah to accommodate holiday crowds.

The sukkot in the above photos have bamboo mats used on top as s’chach.

This is the time of year in Jerusalem to trim the palm trees, so that the large branches can be put on top of the sukkah.

Searching for the perfect species in the main market near Machane Yehuda is an annual sight.

In Jerusalem, also, popup shops for lulav and etrog were easy to find.

Tens of thousands gathered at the Kotel, the Western Wall, for Birchat Kohanim, the Priestly Blessing which was broadcast live.

These were the usual sights throughout Jerusalem, Israel this week.

But I will end with ‘not your average sukkah’ –

While nothing has been quite like this sukkah on a camel from years ago,

here is another unique sukkah, outside of Heichal Shlomo on King George Street.

As part of the Jerusalem Biennale, is this ‘reflective sukkah’. The outside walls work as distorted mirrors. Look closely, see if you can find me in the photo?

The plaza in front of the Great Synagogue is in the background.

I hope this last photograph does not make you dizzy.

This week of Sukkot holiday meals and the overwhelming number of events did make me dizzy.

So much happening on the Jerusalem streets on Sukkot!

And you never know what will happen next.

Thunder and lightning on Monday night and again on Tuesday afternoon!

When they say something moves as fast as lightning, yes, it moves fast and is hard to capture.

Many sukkot were blown down in the stormy weather.

I am now more satisfied to share this year’s modest decorations.

Happy that our sukkah is still standing!

Moadim L’simcha!