Interview: Itay Blaish & Dar Rotem- LaCulture

By SarahPeguine, October 4, 2013

For LaCulture‘s next edition which will be organized for the first time in collaboration with Grodon Gallery 2, I’ve decided to interview the founders of this innovative project, Itay Blaish and Dar Rotem.

Read the interview below, and don’t miss the opening of “Transitions” at Gordon Gallery 2, on Thursday October 10th, 19:30.

– Dar and Itay, tell us about yourself in a few words:

Itay: I own a small visual communication and curation studio, mainly dealing with branding and art exhibitions.

Dar: I studied Visual Communication at Bezalel, majoring in illustration.

At the moment I’m focusing mainly on freelance work as a curator, exhibition producer and as an artist.

– What is the mission behind LaCulture and how did you come up with the idea to create it?

La Culture is a non-profit platform for young artists born from the need in contemporary art, original and accessible.

The purpose is to provide exposure for artists starting out and allow art lovers to acquire works of art at achievable prices.

The most important reason we founded La Culture is that we think art should be accessible and communicative for everyone.

Unlike exhibitions in galleries, the profits from La Culture’s exhibitions go directly to the artists.

– Were you surprised at first by its success?

We were surprised because we didn’t expect so many people would show up, although we believed that there were a lot of people like us out there.

Today it’s more than amazing, we have people asking us when is the next exhibition all the time.

– How do you choose the artists who are showing at the exhibitions?

We choose them according to a few categories :

* If their submission fits the exhibition subject conceptually

* If we feel their style is current and contemporary

* If we believe they will be great artists one day

In some cases we approach upcoming artists ourselves, if we feel that they could contribute to the exhibition, but mostly we send a Call For Artists.

– Who buys at LaCulture, who is your audience?

Our audience is everyone, because it’s art, and everyone can find something they like. We have a group of a mature audience that attend each of the exhibitions, and they are coming in the second we open. They buy a lot of art. The younger people ,the families come a bit after them. In general our audience is people that are art affiliated but never buy it from art galleries because they can’t afford it.

– Each LaCulture edition surrounds a special theme, previous ones have included: Space, Flowers, Underwater, Revolution and more. Tell us about your favorite edition of LaCulture so far?

Dar: My favorite was LaCulture “Bogrim” (Israel’s design and art schools graduates edition). During the work on the exhibition there was a real sense of cooperation, of working together. It felt like a collective of people working for the same goal and with the same love for art. For that event, the exhibition was held on two whole floors at Mazeh 9, and the artists had more space to display their works, which allowed for a more comprehensive view of each separate body of work.

Itay: Mine was the Underwater edition, just because we had an amazing sound installation by Jonathan Goldman that gave the exhibition a very different and cool vibe.

LaCulture’s Bogrim Edition

Jonathan Goldman sound installation at LaCulture “Underwater”

– How do you see LaCulture’s format evolving in the next months? Would you like to go international and expand?

We are now working on La culture in Berlin and Zurich and a joint project with a group of graphic designers in Madrid called “Mooooon Publishing” that will happen in two months or so.

We think that it should be everywhere, not only because of the affordable part, also because its a great hub for young artists everywhere.

– Let’s talk about the upcoming event at Gordon Gallery 2. It’s the first time you’re collaborating with a commercial gallery, what should we be expecting?

First, we really like Gordon Gallery 2, they represent really amazing artists.

We were very flattered when Gordon Gallery 2 invited us to have a LaCultre exhibition at the gallery, we immediately thought that it would be a great opportunity for the young artists to present their work at such a great and well known gallery but, nothing is going to change, you should expect a classic La culture, with high quality art, prices up to 500 NIS, good vibes, good music and good people.

– A few words from Gordon Gallery 2 about the cooperation:

Gordon Gallery 2 is happy to host LaCulture #8. As a sister galley to the more established Gordon Gallery, Gordon 2 strives to provide a platform for young, up-and-coming artists, and projects such as La Culture, which benefits artists and art lovers alike. It is a chance for us to meet people who are not yet collectors but wish to take part in the vibrating Israeli art scene even if they don’t have the financial means to purchase art in a commercial gallery.

Selection of works which will be presented at “Transitions”, the upcoming LaCulture Edition: