Writer and curator Galit Eilat is a busy woman. She is currently preparing the fall opening of a unique eco-art center in Israel, to be called the Art Laboratory for Future Ecologies. The center hopes to draw both local and international artists. It will deal with ecology and earth art and will serve as a platform for research, education, residency and exhibitions. More precisely, the project aims at disseminating knowledge and values of sustainability and nature protection through ecological art. It is set to be located in an already-existing structure that belongs to the Israel Society for the Protection of Nature (SPNI).
The already-existing structure is a unique and groundbreaking architectural creation, constructed in the 1970s by architect Israel Goodovitch. It was commissioned to house the Hatzeva field school, including dormitories for teachers and students, classrooms, offices, a small clinic, a common dining room and even a basketball court. The architectural elements were designed in the shape of hexagons reminiscent of a beehive, integrating poetically into the desert environment.
In a 2014 interview, Goodovitch recounted, “As soon as I was at the site in Hatzeva, I noticed that the whole area was full of saddles. The natural landscape consists of surfaces with edges falling to the ground. So I said: Here you are the Society for the Protection of Nature. I am making nature for you from concrete.”
When constructed, the complex was hailed as outstanding and received international coverage. But over the years it became partially abandoned. Currently, only a small part of it is used by instructors of the SPNI. Eilat had visited the site many years ago. Returning to Israel after several years of working in the United States, Germany, the Netherlands and other countries, she decided to revive the place.
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