In the city of Sderot, disruptions are the norm. For years, residents have lived with the knowledge that an air raid can occur at any moment and, therefore, it is best to always be approximately 15 seconds away from a bomb shelter. In the past few weeks, as the rest of Israel has come to experience the type of torment that the South knows all too well, one cultural event after the other has been forced to postpone or cancel. And yet, amid all this turmoil, the Sderot Adama center has decided to hold a three-day event called The Festival and Its Fracture. 

Throughout Sukkot, Sderot Adama invites people from around the country to attend workshops, exhibitions, performances, and live music that address the power of art to heal, soothe, and unify.  

Festival order of operations

The festival will kick off with a premiere by Hila Venezia entitled From Here. Months ago, Sderot Adama put out an open call for a residency program for dance artists. The idea was to invite outside eyes to experience the local reality and create from their impressions. From Here is Venezia’s response to her three-month residency in the center. 

The first evening will also boast the world premiere of 7 Boom by Liat Dror. Based on a children’s game, Dror’s work is a reflection of the desire to delete the number 7 from our lexicon.

The evening will also include the opening of the photography exhibition Fracture/Body/City, in which works by Tal Nachum and Daniel Rolider will be on display, as well as a live music performance by Boaz Bentor. 

The second day of the festival will begin with workshops: movement within conflict spaces led by Iris Erez; the Japanese art of kintsugi with Alex Ben-Abba; movement and text with Guy Zakh; and movement with Anat Vaadia. That evening, Iris Erez and Elad Vazana will perform their duet The War Within, which explores the effect of post-trauma on the body and the heart. Anat Vaadia will present Ascending the Mountain, a performance and sound installation created in collaboration with Gali Kaner. The evening will close with live music by Rotem Bar Or. 

The final day of the festival offers four workshops: The Empty Chair, a workshop geared towards freeing the hostages led by Eirad Ben Gal; a meeting focused on the healing power of art by Daphna Wysokier Dishi; movement with Olivia Court Mesa; and kintsugi with Alex Ben-Abba. 

Two mixed programs will present short works by Eirad Ben Gal, Veronika Bachaldin, Liat Goral, Asia Adar, and Lauren Sahara.

Olivia Court Mesa will then present the group work A new piece (of my heart) followed by live music by Sababa 5.

The festival offers a unique opportunity not only to visit Sderot but to experience the area via the perspectives of its artists.  

The Festival and Its Fracture will take place Oct. 20-22. For more information: Sderotadama.com