Born on the streets of Tel Aviv, the Walking Man paved the way for current urban activism. His visual language and actions around the city raised the public's awareness of urban planning priorities, and generated civil actions.
His various appearances, with their sharp, local wit, refer to the absurd effort inherent in any struggle. With a seemingly carefree aesthetic gesture, his feet planted firmly in advertising logic, he wins over viewers before delivering a surprise. His 2D form, fanzine graphics and modus operandi, embody resistance as he turns the environment into a communication channel and challenges official institutions’ dominance over the cityscape.
The Walking Man’s first appearance, a graffiti of the man from the pedestrian crossing sign along with the moto “Soon I'll Get Far,” evolved in the 1990s in a weekly column in the Ha’ir local newspaper and in the city itself via posters, giant sculptures and a fictive municipality campaign that called for the establishment of the State of Tel Aviv. In the 2000s, several exhibitions presented works and actions by the Walking Man, and the Tel Aviv Municipality activism prize was devised in its shape. It was awarded in a ceremony at the museum in its previous incarnation as City Hall, in collaboration with Time Out Magazine. Thirty years after being shredded as garbage, the Municipality installed the Walking Man on the corner of Gordon and Hayarkon streets.
Video, 03:20 min, 2008, 2024
Creators: Eitan Bartal and Ilan Goldstein
The project OK protest presents alternating contemporary work in the context of struggle and protest adjacent to the section in the permanent exhibition dedicated to protests in the history of the city.
Tel Aviv-Yafo, throughout all its years of existence, is a liberal and pluralistic space for critical thinking and solidarity. There were protests that dealt with issues of nationality, language and identity, war and peace, struggles for livelihood and the right to housing, the climate, space and the environment, and against racism, discrimination, exclusion and violence. In this history, the importance of civil society and its power to influence is evident. Its ability to express different voices, create a community and echo values of freedom, tolerance, diversity and entrepreneurship, which are essential for building society in Israel
Curator: Hadas Yossifon