Irit Carmon Popper
Irit Carmon Popper is an art curator and researcher in visual culture. She earned her BA and MFA in Philosophy and Art History at The Hebrew University, Jerusalem; her curatorship diploma at the Tel Aviv University; and her PhD at the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion IIT, Haifa. Her interdisciplinary research conjures contemporary art with architectural preservation situated in contested sites such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It was awarded the 2020 magna cum laude Ben Halpern Award of the Israel Studies Association (ISA). Her latest articles published in Arts Journal, Special Issue "Renegotiating Identity, Reenacting History – 21st Century Art in Israel” (2022), and in “Dada and Its Later Manifestations in the Geographic Margins,” Routledge Research in Art History series of Books (2024). Her current research expands to sustainability strategies and digital immersive.
Her curatorial experience ranges from various exhibitions from institutions to alternative spaces such as The Israel Museum, The Petach Tikva Museum of Art, Umm El-Fahem Art Gallery, Artists’ Studios in Jerusalem, and Beit Ha'Gefen Arab-Jewish Culture Center in Haifa.
Session
This paper investigates the dynamic urban landscape of Haifa, Northern Israel, renowned for its multicultural milieu, as a lens to comprehend the intricate interplay of ethnonational dynamics. Focused on the "Site and the Archive" course at the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, it illustrates how geospatial technologies enrich humanities research and methodological innovations, particularly in elucidating historical narratives within contemporary urban settings. Structured around the themes of archive, site, and documentation, the course employs interdisciplinary approaches to investigate various typologies of urban structures, including cinemas, theaters, hospitals, and swimming pools. By integrating archival resources, field observations, and critical analysis, students engage in a holistic exploration of historical geographies, bridging disciplines such as historiography, conservation, and curation.
Furthermore, the paper delineates the evolution from documentation to curatorial practice, exemplified by the "Dinosaurs in the Streets" exhibition held during a social Bauhaus festival in Hadar HaCarmel (2019). Drawing from course documentation, this exhibition showcases the role of curation in presenting diverse urban narratives, underscored by the use of geospatial technologies to enrich spatial representations of heritage sites. Additionally, it examines the intrinsic spatial dimensions of heritage and its impact on local identity, emphasizing the interconnectedness of heritage processes with the architectural fabric and cultural significance of urban landscapes. Through innovative mapping techniques and geospatial technologies, the paper illuminates alternative heritage narratives and marginalized histories embedded within the urban fabric, offering a nuanced understanding of urban heritage.
Aligned with the conference's thematic emphasis on "Spatial explorations of narratives, literary and imaginary places," this paper provides practical insights into the application of spatial humanities in documenting and interpreting built heritage. It underscores the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and innovative spatial analysis in advancing scholarly comprehension of historical geographies and cultural landscapes.