The 1st Eco-art Triannale in the world, Israel- 2003-2006-2008      Theme- Open Spaces

 

 

The Problem Being Addressed:  “ OPEN SPACES “

 

The earth is the source from which new life grows and from which society and its cultures are sustained and nourished. Humanity’s ties to the earth are universal: they go beyond borders and are not politically or culturally bound. Reclaiming and guarding Open Spaces is our moral right and duty for future generations.

 

Open spaces such as: Agricultural Landscapes, Marginal Landscapes and post industrial areas, army zones, the sea, and beaches, the natural lakes and streams, the mountains, are common public spaces.

 

The diminishing of Open spaces is an urgent global issue that Eco Artists are investigating around the world.  The open spaces that still remain in Israel are a diminishing public resource that needs to be treated with extreme care.

 

 

 Goals of the Initiative

 

The Israeli Forum for Ecological Art believes that ecological art has an important role in the process towards social change, and for the cultural and environmental values of  “Open Space “ issues. Therefore, the Forum proposes ecological art as an effective discipline of dealing with these challenges. Cooperation on an international scale would consolidate and bring about a program of action & environmental awareness.

 

The Forum is initiating  a Biennale to bridge the gap between Man and his surroundings using the visual language. These ideals will be brought into fruition by artists and scientists alike in the 1st Israeli Eco-Art Biennale dedicated to Open Spaces.

 

The Biennale should be an exciting and colorful event taking place in the open air. It will be an aesthetic experience blending the many different spheres connected to our surroundings and will include an international conference. The Ben-Gurion University in Beer-Sheva has agreed to collaborate in the academic research.

 

After six years of preparation and research of the eco-art movement around the world by our director,  ecoartist Shai Zakai, visiting and participating in 'Earth-Summit' in Jobourg ( 65,000 people), The 'world Water Forum' in Kyoto (20,000 people), The 'Art In Nature Biennale' in Korea ( hundreds ) and

 

 

 

in ACN conference in Arizona and 'Art, Environment & community' conference in Nevada, We feel ready to set the platform for what will be the 1st eco-art Biennale in world, in the Negev of Israel!.

 

We create a serious of events from 2003 -2006, under the title - Man-environment-Community, which will lead to the biggest event- The Biennale-  in April 2006 (Pesach holiday. It will be a 4 day's event open to the public and will serve as a multi-media aesthetical/artistic experience which will include: presentation of Visual Arts, Theatre, Dance, Music, video-arts & conference on science-art collaborations, Eco-Feminism and Environmental Literature.

 

 

Specific Objectives:

 

1) The Process is the Art. Initiating an artistic, cultural, social, spiritual, ecological study process. inviting artists to present their coping with open spaces issues.  Presentations will be in multi-media as mentioned and will take shape in:

a)      Exhibition.

b)     Video-Art Films.

c)     performances

d)     Professional Conference presentations.

e)     Informal Gathering of Eco-Artists from around the World.

f)      Public workshops

 

 

2) The process will involve interdisciplinary teams of Artists and Scientists that deal with Open Space issues in Israel and abroad.

 

3) Promoting and creating interdisciplinary teams such as Artist-Industrial Workers-Ecologist working on unconventional solutions for post industrial landscape reclamation, or Artist-Farmer-Ecologist that work on adding an economic value to a specific agricultural landscape, or Psychologist-Artist-Art Historian  creating an interdisciplinary project that will  enhance public consciousness to guarding open spaces in their immediate surroundings.

       

 

Accompanying Strategies:

 

1)     The Israeli Forum for Ecological Art is the initiator of the Biennale, Its director will be the chief curator who will work with a professional committee of lectors and curators, and with the board of directors of the Israeli NGO umbrella movement .

2)     The IFfEA, will also serve as a connector between the different teams, documenting (film, catalog) of the ongoing projects, keeping track of existing teams around the world and initiating new ones in Israel. The teams should work on their projects in terms of one year’s life cycle , ie four seasons.

 

3)     The Forum will conduct educational expositions & workshops that will introduce the public to the Open Spaces issues and to the benefit of including the artist's mind in environmental awareness.

 

4)     A committee in close coordination with directors of the forum will be responsible for choosing the final works. An open call for international and local artists will be the immediate stage of the process, upon receiving curatorial and production budget.

 

5)     Public involvement -  People who are involved in the events and in preparation of them, are environmental and social groups based in the south of Israel. Together we will map the most urgent issues, which they are facing today, and will look for unconventional ways to respond to it. We intend to include all variety of Negev population in the process, such as the Beduins, the moshavim's & Kibbutzim members and city activists.

 

6)      Proffessional public - artists, geologists, architects, ecologists, industry people, farmers, nature guides, green movements' leaders.

7)     The works chosen would be directed towards widening the concept of open spaces and  would examine its value, both cultural and practical, and its significance to Israel and the  world. Criteria governing the choice of work would be published beforehand. There is particular interest towards interdisciplinary art cooperation between artists and scientists.

       The Forum intends to choose a variety of Israeli and international artists, with the aim of

       becoming a bridge between different countries regardless of background, gender or nationality.

 

8)     The Forum has a special interest in the participation of Arab-Israeli artists in the artistic research and response to the issue of open spaces in Israel, and to promote joint projects, and to initiate deep and genuine process of better understanding local multi-cultural heritage.

 

9)     The Biennale will include the summery of all processes and events beforehand. Preceding the Biennale there will be publicity in the media about open spaces as a cultural and visual resource.

 

10)  Each stage of the project will be monitored, and its progress will be widely advertised in order to raise public awareness and encourage wide participation. A catalogue will be brought out accompanying each stage of the project, which will also be monitored and updated in a web-site which should be designed for the Biennale as soon as the first seed money arrives.

 

 

Anticipated Results:

 

1)     Creating innovative proposals for reclamation of damaged areas.

2)     Creating a public pressure group that will further legislate issues connected with the statues and conservation of the open spaces landscape.

3)     contributing to the eco-tourism in the desert area of Israel.

4)     Enhancing international and local cooperation and interaction of eco-artists, artists-scientists, community-artists-environment, decision makers-public through the artists .

5)     Raising awareness of ecological art as a  discipline and a profession within  creative inquiries of the environment.

6)     Widening the borders of the arts beyond their present boundaries and definitions.

7)     Raising public awareness,

 

 

 

Project Time Period:

 

The time schedule is dependent on budgetary limitations and on the collaborations with the local people of the proposed area.

2003 - we have initiated the 1st international interdisciplinary workshop, brainstorming the question of reclamation of phosphate mines in the Zin desert. The American &German artists are interested in continuation this successful process. We have opened the 1st eco-art course in Israel. mades several workshops during the year. We have also started the documentation both in video and in still photography, hoping to create a film and a catalog on all the four years' process.

2004 - After Korea Biennale, we have focused on research, and promoting collaborations.

2005 -  Setting the committees, setting the platform, searching for the sites. selecting the co-curators, initiating meetings with all relevant ministries. sending an Open call for artists:  this stage will focus on receiving proposals from artists and environmentalists.

2006-7 - This stage will focus on selecting the final works of about 10- 20 works and conditions for carrying out the works. Hoping to create at least 5 teams working along the year in Israel. Upon budget- a serious of artist-community meetings will take place at the working sites - the triannale ,  and will be based on conclusions gained during the progress of the work and the experience of producing the event, producing the catalogue and film,  building information for the professional public, and creating educational events for adults, youth and children for the event. creating a middle stage conference under the title - Art-Community-Environment to examine eco-art processes.

2008- The Triannale event; Arrivals of artists from abroad, preparing the site, building stages and other technical support, publication and advertising the event, move to the site, preparing the big event. and the event itself, for Israel sixty anniversary.