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 — 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, shops, streets, and familiar shopping centers. Through a direct encounter between artists, the community, and local businesses, a unique cultural experience emerges—one that expands the boundaries of the traditional stage and connects 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 site-specific original works born from attentive engagement with the urban space and the human fabric of the neighborhoods.

An initiative of the Department of Dance, in collaboration with the Department for the Promotion of Businesses and the Department of Music of the Jerusalem Municipality and the community administrations, led by Yael — a 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
Performing creators:
Keren Rotstein — DJ Gondi
Amitai Arikha — singing and saz
Ben Kobi — dance and clowning
Naama Ezrahi — dance and capoeira
Maya Michaels — ethnic dance
Yoav Sargai — guitar

Emek Refaim, Mesila Park, 5 Ha-Rakevet Way

Accessibility contact: Liron Ben Yaakov
Phone: 052-5365251