START ART | Emek Refaim

What happens when the neighborhood’s everyday spaces become a living stage for art?

START ART — Body. Coffee. Culture in the Neighborhoods 2026 is a series of dance, performance, and music events taking place in commercial areas throughout Jerusalem’s neighborhoods, bringing original works to the heart of city life.

The series invites Jerusalem residents to encounter professional art close to home—between the neighborhood café, familiar shops, streets, and shopping centers. Through a direct encounter between artists, the community, and local businesses, a unique cultural experience emerges—expanding the boundaries of the traditional stage and connecting art with life itself.

The program awards creative grants to independent creators in the fields of dance, performance, and music, and encourages the development of original site-specific works born from attentiveness to the urban space and the human fabric of the neighborhoods.

An initiative of the Dance Department, in collaboration with the Department for Business Promotion and the Music Department of the Jerusalem Municipality and the community administrations, led by Yael — Home for Independent Dance and Performance Creators in Jerusalem.

5 days | 10 neighborhoods | Approximately 100 businesses | 15 dance, performance, and music creators

Arnona | Ein Karem | Kiryat Yovel | Ramat Eshkol | Neve Yaakov | Talpiot | Baka | Emek Refaim | Pisgat Ze’ev | Ramot

Participating artists

Dance and Music Ensemble:
Liron Ben Yaakov — direction and artistic management
Creator-performers:

• Keren Rotshtein — DJ Gundi
• Amitai Arikha — singing and saz
• Ben Kobi — dance and clowning
• Naama Ezrahi — dance and capoeira
• Maya Michaels — ethnic dance
• Yoav Sargai — guitar

The Station Compound, 4 David Remez Street

Accessibility contact: Liron Ben Yaakov
Phone: 052-5365251