This course considers the urban space as performance site, as a site for artistic activity, happenings, street theater, demonstrations and social performances. We’ll learn about historical art movements that approached the city as a performative arena, engaging new approaches to the urban space and the role of performance in relation to it. We’ll deal with the border between public and private, the planned and the unexpected. We’ll also discuss social and everyday life performances in the public space, from art actions till the 2020 Balfour Street demonstrations.
The course will focus on the complex city of Jerusalem, with its own unique qualities, virtues and limitations. We’ll think of Jerusalem as a performative arena, observe performative moments, and analyze them with the tools of Theater and Performance Studies.
“The Jerusalem art scene is defined by extremes,” writes Israeli curator Tal Yahas, “On the one hand, it hosts some of the most established artistic and cultural institutions in Israel. On the other, it frequently fosters experimental, progressive and somewhat off-center art-making; but between these two realities there seems to be something of a void.” In this course, we’ll learn about the Jerusalem art scene, concentrating on the innovative projects of artist collectives such as “Barbour,” “HaMifal,” “Muslala” and “Sala-manca.” We’ll meet artists and social activists and learn about methods of action.