Kiryat Hamelacha, Tel Aviv

As part of the “Jane’s Walks” project, I signed up for a graffiti tour in Tel Aviv with “The Wanderer” – Elisheva Zaltzer. I was drawn to it mainly because of the promise of an unusual observation point, which was indeed fulfilled, as you can see here above. She led us to a place I didn’t know at all – Kiryat Hamelacha (Craft Quarter). An area full of movement and noise on workdays, but almost completely empty on Friday afternoons. The street names there – Hameretz (The Energy), Ha’amal (The Labor), Hamif’al (The Factory), Hatnufa (The Momentum) – suit the character of the place.

The tour was interesting, and I enjoyed seeing the richness of the graffiti art in the place: huge paintings alongside small ones, abstract ones alongside those with figures and stories. A small part of them appears in the attached pictures here, but it is highly recommended to wander there yourself, you can also do it without guidance but it’s more interesting with.

Afterwards, we entered one of the large buildings, half the width of the street, where we visited the studio of Yoav Brenner – a graffiti artist whose works appear throughout the city. The conversation with him was fascinating, and so were his works, but I came for the roof, from which  A wide view of Tel Aviv unfolds: the old industrial buildings of Kiryat Hamelacha are gradually being replaced by the towers of the city center, the Discount, Levinstein, and Neve Tzedek towers nearby, and in the horizon, the Azrieli towers and several other skyscrapers under construction that have already been completed since the photo was taken – meaning I need to come visit again, both because of the buildings and because of the graffiti that has changed even more than the skyline. In between, you can see the roofs, the narrow streets, and the dense texture of the old city. I circled the building while photographing the panorama, which also merged the long shadows of the afternoon and the sounds that rose from below – music and laughter from a small party that took place in one of the bars across the street. So I also incorporated this party into the panorama, as part of the human landscape of the place. In my opinion, it completes the picture – an industrial area that has become a space for art, music, and people.

By the way, my figure appears five times in the panorama. Try to find me 😎