National Collection, a museum exhibition, is realized in its entirety as a durational performance and is the first of its kind in Israel. The exhibition is held over six weeks in various spaces of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and is performed by eleven members of Public Movement. Almost a decade after Public Movement's inaugural performative act: the laying a wreath of white flowers on the steps of Independence Hall. The exhibition temporarily returns the Independence Hall to the "Hall of Art" to underscore a complex relationship, and interdependency, between the State and its cultural institutions. Public Movement regards the Museum as an arena where civic behavior in public space is molded according to the ideals of a democratic society. National Collection examines the Museum as a site and set of activities through which national and cultural identity are defined. Drawing on the historical and contemporary contexts embodied by the Museum’s architecture, collections, gathering spaces, and codes of conduct, Public Movement activates political and national mechanisms by engaging the participant in a series of actions and new choreographies. In this light, the Museum collection is not assessed for the material value of the artworks, but as a visual body through which society defines itself. As part of National Collection the performance Debriefing Session II is staged in a separate, secret location in the Museum. It is a one-on-one meeting undertaken with a Public Movement Agent. Debriefing Sessions are Public Movement methodology, which exist in the transition between research and action. National Collection was co-conceptualized by Dana Yahalomi and Alhena Katsof. Curated by Ruti Direktor. Public Movement was founded in December 2006 by Omer Krieger and Dana Yahalomi, the latter assumed sole leadership in 2011. For more information, visit: http://www.publicmovement.org/
ארכיוני המרכז הוקמו בתמיכת קרן אוסטרובסקי וארטיס
