On the one hand this world, wow. How much abundance, multiplicity, variety and colors there is in it. On the other hand this world, wow. How little of it we bring closer to us. How much we all stay within the limits of the algorithmic history close to our hearts. How much we are surrounded by our similar-familiar-known and remain, almost always, in our comfort zones.
Apocalyptic opera. Sun & C. (Photo: Andrey Vasilenko)
The art or the creation (and we mean an honest creation that comes deep from the belly), is in another sphere. One of her goals (and who are we to even speak for her…) is to make us all reflect and challenge our worldviews. To take us out of the familiar templates and take us towards open, layered, deeper realms. A good work does not play within the boundaries of the familiar, in the usual and dichotomous discourse. She takes us beyond ourselves. Beyond the comfortable and relaxed. It opens doors of consciousness. Brings in other worlds of emotion.
Our festival opens in a second. When we started thinking about it, we put aside everything we know and this burden/blessing of the Israel Festival (after all, an old and strong cultural brand), closed our eyes, opened our arms as wide as we could and remained open. We ourselves wanted to go beyond what we knew. A basic law in the world is – if you stay open – wonderful things will come. This is true on so many levels and areas of life. We remained open and suggestions in colors, mediums and other flavors began to arrive in this space.
If creators get to wonderful places. Michal and Ekanin and Itay Mautner. Photo by: Yair Moyus
Neta Elkayam and Amit Chai Cohen took us to the festivities of Baba Sali in Netivot where they grew up. The two define these revelries as their “Woodstock”, they took us on a mind trip about the holy trinity of revelry-faith-identity. They invited here a delegation of their friends from Morocco (among other things a hysterical drag troupe that celebrates Moroccan femininity), activists, poets, dancers and just Mahia lovers for a theatrical event that is a combination of a colorful hafla and a contemporary demonstration.
Gon Ben Ari and Oren Fisher took us deep into the Amazon and deep into Kabbalah and Judaism and immersed everything in hip hop consciousness. The result – an impossible combination (but hey, it happens…) of an art exhibition (Amala, what Oren prepared for 30 days in his studio), a musical that Gon wrote and an imaginary-real world that puts us all in a psychoactive state.
The new opera “Sun and Sea” took us to the most talked about topic in the world today – the climate crisis which is already here big time. Contrary to the usual claims about the crisis, the creators of the opera (which won the biggest prize at the Venice Biennale, and since then they have been traveling with the show all over the world), touch on this hot topic in a subtle way, as if incidentally, but very effectively. In general – the audience is in the balconies at a height of four meters and looks down to the beach – where all this opera takes place.
>> and that’s not all. More events as part of the Israel Festival
Itai Zebulon and Daniel Koren took us to ancient Buddhist practices that seek to keep us all in the present. here and now In this single moment that happens, in which everything happens. In a special show they will try to explore through nonsense, humor, confessions and a lot of music this elusive present that for some reason we keep running away from. Think of a mindfulness workshop on laughing gas.
And there is another full one, a whole world, a wide and deep and intriguing and abundant and full of colorful and tempting world that is not afraid to ask, for one week only, to open a window to worlds a little distant from us, worlds that are a little more complex, worlds that, if we only let them, can seep deep into our and plant a change in us. Because, in the end it’s about each other.
Michal Vaaknin and Iti Mautner are the artistic directors of the Israel Festival 2022 which will be held on September 15-22 at the Jerusalem Theater. For more details and ticket purchase