Helpful as Administering Medication to the Dead

The exhibition deals with the cultural and spiritual life that arose in the 1920’s in the Ben Yehuda and Dizengoff complex, located in the old neighborhoods of Tel Nordoi and Nordia, where the first buds of the world of Israeli art and culture sprouted. Although the cultural institutions and figures of the past gradually disappeared, the spirit of the bustling cafes, the first cultural institutions like Tzavta, Beit Ha'am, the many cinemas and theaters that were scattered in the city, remained. The spirit of founding figures in Israeli culture who lived and worked in the neighborhood, such as Leah Goldberg, Tirza Atar and Moshe Shlonsky, is still present in contemporary art.

 

The spirit of the cultural institutions and artists in the area continues to hover over the streets and rolls into the door of Studio Bank - a temporary urban art project operating on Ben Yehuda Street. After several moves that emptied the street of activity, including the preparations for the light rail, and against the background of the severe economic crisis that befalls the whole world, the artists participating in the exhibition and the accompanying events program retrospectively look at the neighborhood as we know it today.

 

Most of the works on display in the exhibition are tributes, some of which are based on rare archive footage, diaries and works of art by artists who have inhabited the neighborhood over the years. Some of them focus on prominent female figures in the short but rich history of the area. From the present point in time, the careers of these women who acted at the turn of the century are astonishing in the face of their status and integration into the male landscape in periods when it was not profitable. The exhibition focuses on the routine of life of the city's historic creative community, including lesser-known figures in an attempt to understand the ground on which Israeli culture grew.

 

The title of the exhibition is based on the Yiddish proverb S'wat Helpen as A Toiten Bankas, which means: will help like banks to the dead. The proverb echoes the sense of impotence that the creative community has recently felt towards the status of contemporary culture due to its closure to the general public, and the (im) possibility of culture influencing the current reality. 

 

The title of the exhibition also mentions the reincarnation of the use of the building in which the temporary art project Studio Bank is housed. The building, which was once a bank and has become a center of art and spirit, reflects the changes that have taken place in the area over the years from a vibrant cultural center, to a tourist center and at the present time the area is being emptied of its uses.

 

Additional events:

Progressive Culture - Political Cabaret

Friday, 13/11/20, 11:00

 

The event is hosted by the theater and film maker Marat Parkhomovsky

A tribute to the historic Tzavta that was located on 11 Mapu Street. The public will meet key figures in the fields of public policy, philosophy, and culture and take part in a discussion about the changing status of culture in Israel and its future. 

The event will stream live on “Studio Bank” and “Loving Art. Making Art.” Facebook pages.