A site-specific laboratory and exhibition in the Neve Sha'anan neighborhood of Tel Aviv.

In a historical retrospective, the site-specific approach emerged as a protest against the dictation and constraints of institutions, transcending the boundaries of the white cube, making the line between art and life more nuanced and complex. The works and projects created within this approach are characterized by the interpenetration and mutual transformation of art and territory, a process of exploration in which it is both a subject and an object.

Neve Sha'anan is one of the most complex districts in Tel Aviv, with its history, ethnic and cultural lines, and unresolved social issues, weaves a complex narrative. The artists invited to the site-specific laboratory, the debut project of the emerging art space SVIVA, were mostly new repatriates for whom participation became an opportunity of deeper immersion into the Israeli context and an understanding of their place within it. Various artistic practices were organized to truly engage participants with the district's territory and its communities, unveiling its urban multilayeredness: meetings with Neve Sha'anan residents, municipal representatives, interdisciplinary lectures by experts, interactions with local cultural and social figures, tours, etc.

For many artists, acquainting themselves with this area and each laboratory event became a challenge due to the extreme social neglectedness in this part of Tel Aviv and the emotional side of encounters with the tragic fates of certain community members, as well as the potential insecurity of the area. Gentrification and decay coexist here side by side, progressive cultural projects and social illnesses collide on the streets, and art objects and exhibitions emerge in the darkest places.
The exhibition space itself, located in a renovating building, proved to be a rather aggressive environment, demanding constant adaptation and protection of space and artworks from various external factors.
As a result of discussions, research, and experiments, the participating artists created works about Neve Sheanan as an artistic reflection on their engagement with the Place. Video and audio art, installations, kinetic objects, performances, participatory works, painting, graphics, photography, and works in other media presented at the SVIVA STATION final exhibition offered a new perspective on the current moment of this unique fragment of the Israeli urban landscape.

Curator: Kate Finkelstein
Curator's assistant: Ekaterina Belukhina

PARTNERS: @niisreda @kakdelart @dashit.studio @hagracenter @yungyiddish @art_makes_sense @talis_gallery