Florentin is actually a part of Tel Aviv, we wrote already about its street art. But Florentin deserves a special part about the graffiti and the particular surrounding. The walls are covered with nice artwork and the extraordinary mix with the industrial buildings is phenomenal. It is as well a very interesting place if you want to directly observe and study some kind of half-functioning but still developing gentrification. Some streets are in perfect hipster manner, there are chick bars and nice cafes, a lot of alternative and different styles. But just around the corner there is as well the factory quarter, between dirty roads and market streets all over. Its a fantastic mix. There the stylo cafes, on the other side is one car repair shop next to each other with a scrap head in front of the place. Just the architectural commingling is fantastic.
This industrial flair is definitly perfect for graffitis of any kind and style. Some streets are with tower blocks, around the corner there is again a quarter with one leveled factory buildings in a grungy look. If you see the scenario and the different houses packed to each other, you understand why there are so many graffitis, paintings and artworks in this area. It inspires, some worlds are overlapping and there are just enough walls. These grey walls definitly needed some paint anyway.
A good example for a creative link between modern streetart and traditional working show the graffiti artists FALUTA and DIOZ in their short video while spraying a terrific wall in the Abraham Hostel last year:
Artsts are the first who start to redesign a suburb, they paint and do their stuff there. After a while other art loving and alternative thinking people move to these places as well, they just find each other. More and more interested people come, art galleries start to open, as well chilled cafes, cool bars and nice clubs. In Florentine you can see the different facets of development next to each other. But as well it was calming to see, that even there is a gentrification like we have here in Germany, but it is more developing in a very slowed down way and a bit more fenced and forced to mix with the other entities. Some streets away there are still all the factories next to each other, around the corner there ist the Jaffa Market or the Carmel Market. There you can find anything, from cloth to tons of different spices up to meat directly from the butchers table.
The sprayer and graffiti artist EVYA lives in the suburb since many years, did a lot of work there and tells us about the street art in Florentin during a walk through the neighbourhood:
If you stay in Tel Aviv for some days, Florentin is the best headquarter and starting point for activities in the region. The beach is close and all the historic sights, as well there is a very recommendable hostel: The Florentin Hostel. The first look of the front doesn´t show you exactly the good vibes, but that´s for the camouflage. From the outside it could be a normal factory building. But in the inside it´s just super cool and one of our very good hostel suggestions. The rooms are great and clean, there is a nice roof terrace, a comfortable chill area. But much more important is the cool and energetic staff who helps with all kind of travel manners, they organizing joint dinners and take care for parties and the evening planings.
INFOTHEK
Florentin Hostel
Adress: Elifelet 10, Tel Aviv-Jaffa
Phone +972 3-518-7551
Email: florentinehostel@gmail.com
Website: http://florentinehostel.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/florentine.hostel
MORE ARTICLES ABOUT ISRAEL
>>> Streetart – Tel Aviv <<<
>>> Streetart – Florentin <<<
>>> Streetart – Jerusalem <<<
>>> Interview – Andrew from Capzoola <<<
>>> Interview – Sprayer EVYA <<<