about
The NIFGASHOT Platform operates at the intersection of art and society. It connects values of equality with diverse women-led artistic creation and strengthens the relationship between artists and community. NIFGASHOT promotes women artists and makes content addressing identity and female experience accessible to diverse populations, and particularly to underserved communities. The Platform takes place in multiple locations across the country and operates on a spectrum ranging from the local, to the national, and to the international. NIFGASHOT conducts community-based processes and events throughout the entire year, such as creative processes of artists within communities, one-time workshops for the general public, panels and discourse events, festivals, performances, collaborative creation processes with artists and institutions from abroad, and more. NIFGASHOT is structured as a triangle whose vertices are: art, feminism, and community.
Within the framework of the Platform, we hold the “NIFGASHOT Festival” — an annual festival for feminist performance art. The festival engages with the female experience through an encounter with the active and moving body. The NIFGASHOT Festival makes contemporary dance accessible to new audiences by initiating creative processes and events in public space; expands the circle of women participating in the dance field by initiating community-based projects in collaboration with girls and elderly women, led by leading artists in their fields; brings feminist, critical, and social issues into the public discourse through artistic content; strengthens the dance community through the initiation of national and international projects in which students from various art institutions across the country participate together in artistic processes and performances; and reinforces the creative ecosystem of the art field by initiating interdisciplinary projects that connect dance with live music and additional mediums. Over the years, the festival has included performances, festivals, and premieres in the fields of dance, performance art, spoken word, music, theatre, and more, alongside visual art exhibitions, discourse events, panels, one-time workshops, and additional formats.
The NIFGASHOT Platform was first initiated in 2017 by choreographer Ayala Frenkel, who serves as the curator and artistic director of the festival to this day. Between 2017–2019, the “NIFGASHOT Festival” took place in collaboration with Kelim Center for Choreography, a choreographic working body based in Bat Yam, and was held in its spaces. Between 2020–2024, the festival was held in the Kfar Shalem neighborhood in southeast Tel Aviv–Yafo, in collaboration with the municipality. In 2025–2026, the NIFGASHOT Platform expanded into national and international projects, including collaborations with the Jerusalem Municipality, the Castle in Time Orchestra, the Musrara Ensemble for New Music, the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, HAKVUTZA dance school, Vertigo Dance Workshop, and the Sasha Waltz Company (Germany).
EDITIONS
Ayala Frenkel
Ayala Frenkel is a cultural entrepreneur and artistic director working at the intersection of contemporary choreography and social and political values, including multicultural feminism and the expansion of dance to diverse communities. She is the Artistic Director of the Kelim Center for Choreography in Bat Yam, an international center promoting interdisciplinary, innovative, and inclusive dance practices. She is also the founder and Artistic Director of the NIFGASHOT Platform, developed in collaboration with the Tel Aviv–Yafo Municipality.
Frenkel holds a BA with honors in Philosophy and Art History, is a graduate of the Persits Program for Cultural Institution Management, and is currently an MA student in Cultural Studies.
As an artistic director, Frenkel has initiated and led innovative projects that expand the field of dance in Israel, including festivals in neighborhood public spaces, artistic projects in collaboration with senior women, youth, and people with disabilities, and choreographic study programs integrating theory, research, and practice. She has also developed international collaborations with artists, artistic directors, and institutions such as Roberto Casarotto (Italy) and the Sasha Waltz Company (Germany), among others.
Frenkel has been active in the field of contemporary dance for many years. As a dancer, she has collaborated with leading companies and choreographers in Israel, including the Batsheva Dance Company (Kamuyot project), Yasmeen Godder Company, Yossi Berg & Oded Graf, Iris Erez, and others. She has also participated in international projects in Japan, Sweden, and Switzerland.
As a choreographer, her works have been supported by various funds and residency programs in Israel and have been presented internationally, including in New York and Italy.
Supports
Kelim is an international center and home for contemporary dance in Bat Yam. The center has hosted the Fe(m)stival since 2017 and the annual festival occurs in its spaces. Kelim is a women-run organization directed in a feminist manner, sharing the tenets of the Fe(m)stival.
Staff: Morahn Bash (CEO), Anat Danieli (Artistic Director), Tal Gravinsky (Education and Community).
Kelim is an international center and home for contemporary dance in Bat Yam. The center has hosted the Fe(m)stival since 2017 and the annual festival occurs in its spaces. Kelim is a women-run organization directed in a feminist manner, sharing the tenets of the Fe(m)stival.
Staff: Morahn Bash (CEO), Anat Danieli (Artistic Director), Tal Gravinsky (Education and Community).
CONTACT
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