Exhibition Eindhoven op de kaart
15 projects of a ficticious Eindhoven
One of the exhibitors is DAE student Eline Hesse. Eline made a Israeli Palestinian city of Eindhoven, called Hebroven:
"Hebroven is the result of the merging of Eindhoven and Hebron, a city in the West Bank, strictly divided between Israeli and Palestinian control. By placing this polarized and complex situation in Eindhoven, I wanted viewers to gain understanding for people who live in Occupied Territories. What would you do if checkpoints almost take half your day, and you are not even allowed to enter the once thriving city center, for supposed security reasons? What if as a settler, the place you call home, is under constant threat of violence because natives don't want you there? How would you think of your neighbors? These are questions which I would like Eindhovenaren, and people all over the world to ask themselves."
Hebroven
Hebroven (Pronounciation Heb-ro-ven) is a city located in the southern part of the Dutch Occupied Terratories (D.O.T.) called Noord Brabant. It is the largest city in Noord-Brabant, with about 212,000 Hebrovians, and 400-800 Jewish Settlers.
Hebroven has had a long and painful history due to its religious importance and strategic location. The native Hebrovians have had to deal with various occupiers since ancient times, amongst them the Spanish and the French, but the ongoing illegal Jewish Settlers and violence from both Hebrovians and Settlers have made daily Hebrovian life difficult.
Since a massacre killing 23 worshipping Hebrovians at the Sint Katherinakerk in 1994, H1 is under the control of the D.O.T, and H2 under the Israeli Military control.
Jewish Israeli nationals are not permitted to enter the H1 quarter. H2, where 6 settlement communities are located, contains the city center which has been blocked from Hebrovian business and movement, in the interest of “Israeli settlement security.”
Stratumseind, famous for being the longest bar street in the world, is no longer accessible for Hebrovians, all their business’ shut down; nobody parties there anymore.
Israeli jurisdiction ignores Israeli soldiers from blocking settler violence towards Hebrovians, however, when this happens vice-versa, harsh measures are taken against Hebrovians. Some Settlers take advantage of this freedom.
De Witte Dame ('the white lady building') has become the Israeli Military headquarters; designers which once made Hebroven famous have long fled the town. The constant nonsensical security measures, such as restriction of movement, curfews and neighborly quarrels have caused a trickling down of Hebrovian presence in the H2 quarter.
Most of them end up in poor areas such as Woensel-West, a hot spot for crime in the H1 quarter. Hebroven is, and remains, a divided town due to the Israeli occupation and the illegal settlement activity. It is almost impossible to think groups of diverse monotheistic religions, lived together in peace hundreds of years ago.
Eindhoven op de kaart
Exhibition 4 - 23 September 2012
Van Abbe Museum, Bilderdijklaan 10
5611 NH Eindhoven
tel. +31 (0)40 238 10 00
info@vanabbemuseum.nl
Free entrance