​​Rotem Berlin Salon

​​Rotem Berlin Salon is an independent, experimental platform for dialogue, discussion and artistic research. Addressing the turbulent social, political and emotional landscape of the early 21st century, it brings together hosting, art, history, identity, society and feminism within an intimate setting. 

​I work within as much as out of the circumstances of my life. The more unstable the ground, the stronger my urge to create, to think, and to question becomes. Recent personal and socio-political events have intensified my need for an artistic practice that is exposed, personal and intimate. In an era marked by uncertainty and rising extremism, the Rotem Berlin Salon confronts the present directly - looking into the eyes of the monsters of our time and the ghosts of the past, and delving into the visceral core of the human condition.

Rotem Berlin Salon addresses the issues that preoccupy me as an artist, writer and curator. It continues the conceptual thread of Apart.Art, a gallery that I ran from my home in Tel Aviv's Florentin neighborhood from 2009 to 2011.  At its core, the gallery concept addressed the unique situation in which a private space becomes public, where the living room becomes a contemporary art gallery and my personal life is exposed to the audience as part of the conceptual act and artistic and curatorial work.

Taking inspiration from the Jewish salonnières of Berlin, who played a subversive role in shaping liberal culture and advancing women’s presence in public life by hosting gatherings of thought and debate in their homes from the 18th century until the First World War, the Rotem Berlin Salon hosts conversations, discussions and intimate public gatherings with artists participating in its residency program. The residency program provides artists with time for focused creative work alongside close professional dialogue. Each residency is tailored to the needs of the invited artist. 

The encounters unfold further through a series of documentary essays based on the conversations, questions, and insights that emerge during each residency .These texts reflect the unstable spirit of the 2020s, showcasing the guest artist’s work, and exploring the dynamics of the host–guest situation. They also address the urgent questions that arise from this intimate exchange, such as those concerning  identity, place, belonging, and history. Together, they constitute a vibrant repository of artistic contemplation on the human condition in the present era.

I am a woman, a mother, a migrant, an Israeli and a secular descendant of the Jewish people and culture.
My profession as an artist, curator, and lecturer in architecture, has suffered economic regression and contraction since the COVID pandemic.
My gender, woman, is still struggling for its equal place in society.
My Israeli and Jewish origins either spark curiosity or lead to dismissal.
The society I come from is deeply traumatized, and my country of birth is changing its face.
At this particular moment in history, when liberal democratic society reveals its fragility, I am opening my doors. Through my artistic actions, I aim to create space for insight, expression, and solace, and to foster a sense of healing.