Lotte Lyon
The studio is in fact an apartment situated in an exclusive residential district of Herzliya, a city on the northern edge of Tel Aviv. It has two rooms plus ancillary rooms with a panoramic view of palms and a short strip of the sea. It offers sufficient space for living and working. The neighbourhood is quiet, with little infrastructure, but you can get everything you need for living. You can easily go to shops, a few restaurants and bars by bicycle. What is particularly nice is the possibility to reach the nearby beach quickly.
In the building of the Herzliya Artists’ Residence, there are also two guest apartments used by visitors and four studios where Israeli artists work. Moreover, there is a gallery where exhibitions, artist talks, etc., take place regularly.
It takes about 30 to 45 minutes, depending on traffic, to go to Tel Aviv. You have to wait for the bus at one of the busiest streets of Israel. And it is not always perfectly clear which bus line is the right one. The fact that there is no public transport on Sabbath – from Friday afternoon to Saturday evening – came as a surprise. But it is possible to get a sherut (shared taxi) and thus, you can also go to the city on weekends.
Herzliya is quiet and orderly just as much as Tel Aviv is loud and lively. I found this combination extremely agreeable – having the opportunity to relax in the green neighbourhood of the residency or by the sea after a busy day in the city.
There is so much to see in Israel that you cannot ever do it all in three months. Apart from museums and galleries for contemporary art, architecture and history, I particularly liked the Dead Sea, the Negev desert and the Sea of Galilee. I went to Jerusalem several times which, as a conflict-ridden city shaped by religions, is in stark contrast to hedonistic Tel Aviv and made a trip to Ramallah and Hebron in the West Bank. I went to Yad Vashem and visited the ladies at the pensioners club of Austrian Holocaust survivors in Tel Aviv.
Being an Austrian, I believe it is still vital to deal with the Nazi times and the murder and expulsion of the Jews. To see that a Jewish state exists and functions and how – with all its problems and ruptures – was very insightful for me. Again and again, I made the experience that there is also interest in exchanges on our shared history on the Israeli side.
With regard to the situation on site, I only felt unsafe sometimes. Herzliya is a particularly quiet and affluent city anyway. But even in the rougher neighbourhoods of Tel Aviv it is safe to be out and about – also for women. My fear of attacks and terrorism was limited, I had the impression that violence mainly happens between Palestinians and Israelis and that visitors from abroad are not drawn into this conflict. Of course, it is different from Austria – there is an enormous presence of armed security forces and you get the feeling that something could happen anytime. But specifically the experience of how to live in a crisis-prone and difficult region was important and interesting for me.
| 1. | My stay in one word: |
| Incomparable. | |
| 2. | Things I miss since I am no longer there: |
| The openness and directness of the people, the good food, the palms and the parrots. | |
| 3. | Dos & Don'ts at this place?: |
| Do: Cycling to the beach of Herzliya. Don´t: Not going to Tel Aviv because you don’t feel like waiting for the bus at the highway.. |
|
| 4. | Where you can buy great supplies: |
| 5-Shekel Shop (e.g. next to the public library of Herzliya), DIY market in the basement of the 7 Stars Mall, Arta (art supplies, two branches in Tel Aviv). | |
| 5. | What you should definitely bring with you from home: |
| Nothing, you can get everything here. | |
| 6. | On art at my residency place: |
| There are plenty of museums, galleries and off-spaces in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. And Herzliya’s Museum of Modern Art is very good. | |
| 7. | Around the studio – this is where I go shopping, drink a coffee and get the best lunch specials within walking distance: |
| You can choose between the northern and the southern end of Nordau Street. In the north, there is Café Efrat for having coffee or eating. Moreover, the greengrocer’s there is very good. In the south, there is the Sushi Room and a kind of diner, which both serve good food. In the bakery next door, you can get good coffee and sweet treats. | |
| 8. | Where I like to spend the evening (dinner, drinks and best sound): |
| In the beachside bars. | |
| 9. | What I would have liked to know about the studio already at the start of my residency: |
| That there is a good swimming pool at the Kfar Shmaryahu Sports Club only 10 minutes away. |
Website resident: lottelyon.com