Open call for an exhibition:
What is the White City?
The Liebling Haus Project Room is the open end of the center’s permanent exhibition. The Project Room hosts temporary exhibitions and projects that focus on the question What is the White City?. Architects, planners, urbanists, geographers, designers, artists and other creatives are invited to submit exhibition proposals for the Project Room.
The Project Room is a space in which creatives from different fields are invited to take part in a critical reflection on the question What is the White City?. This investigation is part of an alternative, collaborative and ongoing consideration of the White City as a platform for discourse on conservation, urbanism, identity and culture in Tel Aviv. The Project Room is the open end of the Liebling Haus permanent exhibition, which tells the story of the White City as the point of departure for a history in the making. This is an opportunity for the creative community to address this question and to present different viewpoints and alternative timelines.
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The White City is an idea, concept, brand and part of Tel Aviv’s built environment. This urban area, with its international style buildings, developed in the 1930s and 40s and became the heart of the new city. After decades of neglect, the public and the municipal authorities rediscovered the qualities and values of the White City, now as part of a heritage and story worth preserving. This led to UNESCO declaring the area a World Heritage Site. The White City includes an unprecedented number of some 4,000 historic international style buildings, while sustaining vibrant, constantly evolving urban life.
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In keeping with the spirit of the UNESCO Historic Urban Landscapes (HUL) we seek to think together about ways in which to enhance the sense of place, communal identity, the functionality of the urban fabric, and the historic values we wish to preserve as the city goes through accelerated development. We question the meaning of the city’s history to its present and future, uncover the current pressing challenges facing a city built in the spirit of modernism, and pay close attention to the terms “past” and “conservation” in a place that seems to exist in a “continuous present.”[1]
We wish to question the built heritage and in particular, to see if the notion of conservation can be extended beyond the renovation and restoration of buildings. To see whether conservation can be integrated into diverse mediating activities in which the White City is conceived as a living cultural and historic fabric that presents the stories of all the communities – past and present – that share this space, and to question the existing and possible narratives of the city.
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[1] Zali Gurevitch, On Israeli and Jewish Place, 71
What are we looking for?
Proposals for exhibitions that incorporate ongoing actions or alternative research; exhibitions that address the topic of the White City in various media; projects that extend beyond Liebling Haus into the city, generate dialogue on conservation and renewal; proposals for exhibitions that focus on promoting cultural and communal heritage, evoke social activity and civic engagement in the city.
Applications should include a proposal for three public engagements/workshops/activities that will take place during the exhibition period.
What do we offer?
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3.5-month exhibition
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20,000ILS Including VAT grant (5000 ILS artists’ fee, 15,000 ILS exhibition production costs)
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Personal curatorial support in preparation for the exhibition (by project curator Sabrina Cegla)
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Opportunity to meet and consult with the Liebling Haus content team of conservation architects, city planners, educators, and designers
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Exposure on social media and the Liebling Haus digital platforms
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Documentation of the exhibition as part of an evolving study titled What is the White City?
How to apply?
Submit a single PDF file (maximum 10 MB).
The file name must indicate the applicant's full name (in English).
The file should include:
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Contact details of the applicant(name, email, phone, address)
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CV
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Short bio (half a page)
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Portfolio (10 works max; submit video works via links)
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Text describing the proposal for the exhibition
(1 page max) -
Illustrations demonstrating the proposal and a sketch or floor plan of the exhibition layout
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Budget for the project realization
Submission deadline: 6 August 2022
Winners will be announced by 18 September 2022
The winning proposals are expected to be presented during 2023/24. Final dates for the exhibitions will be set in coordination with the Liebling Haus.
Email for inquiries: projectroom@whitecitycenter.org
Additional Materials
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Drawing of the Project Room
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Photos and video of the space
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Previous Exhibitions:
#01 The Matter of Data - Ines Weizman and the center for documentary architecture (CAD)
#02 A Great Place to Live? - Paul Kearns, Motti Ruimy
#03 La Flâneuse - Nelly Agassi, Maya Raviv
#04 The Precious Stones - Danielle Alhassid
#05 Architecture is Frozen Music - Laure Catugier
The judges include representatives of the following bodies: Liebling Haus, the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality Engineering Administration, Conservation Department and cultural officials.
Project Room curator: Sabrina Cegla