When the sun set the howls begin, this is the singing of the Golden Jackals. They welcome the moon that symbolise the beginning of another day in their urban life.
The Synanthrope Preserve invites you to walk in the paths of the urban wild life that inhabits Ganei Yehoshua Park (Yarkon Park). Hopefully, we are going to encounter one of the marvelous creatures that had returned to the park after years of exile – the Golden Jackal.
“Golden Howls” is an audio and AR journey through the Ganei Yehoshua Park (Yarkon Park). Participants are welcome to listen on their cellphones to a walk in the footsteps of the jackals and their cubs, follow in the footsteps of the Egyptian jackal “Anubis” and observe the various meeting points of man and wildlife, living around the park.
Through a designated app, in a 50-minute tour, participants will observe the park like they have never before. Viewed from their phone screen, they will discover more layers in the park’s story and the animals that inhabit it.
Gal Nissim creates urban interventions – her artistic actions interfere with the web of life in the city while trying to intervene and change the viewer’s perspective. Golden Howls is part of the Synthropical Reserve project that began in New York and follows synthropical animals – animals that live amongst man and thrive by being close to him, especially by his garbage. The project has so far included tours following raccoons in Central Park, following rats in Tompkins Square Park, and following pigeons in Washington Square Park.
While technology often distances us from the environment surrounding us, Nissim uses technology to bring us closer to nature and understand it in different ways. The path following the jackals in Golden Howls reminds us that one does not have to move away from the city to encounter the wild nature that surrounds, and that the city limits, like our affectionate limits to certain animals, are purely artificial. No more real than the artificial lake unfolding before us in the park, no more realistic than the augmented reality picture revealed to us on screen.
In the past year, Artport has started operating in the public space, first in projects around Artport’s building – “Wall Piece” by Dor Zlekha Levy, which was projected on a building on Ha’amal Street, and “In a Nutshell” by Yael Frank – a sculpture of a palm tree falling from the roof of Artport. “Golden Howls” is Artport’s first project taking place in a public space that does not surround its building, and is part of a broader intention to continue operating in other areas throughout the city.
Starting point:
Meeting point at the Sailing Lake plaza (in the northwest corner), Ganei Yehoshua, Tel Aviv
The tour:
The tour is a personal tour of each participant individually, and includes a 50-minute walk according to the instructions that will be heard by each participant’s headphones, through the app that will be downloaded to his or her phone device.
The tour is recommended for children aged 12 and up.
When asked to go up the stairs, there is an accessible path on the left that reaches the same point.
App details:
It is recommended to download the app in advance from the app stores or use the Web App (does not support AR). Please arrive with a charged headset and smartphone.
Download links:
Recommended times:
It is recommended to start the tour about an hour before sunset (around 18:30 in the summer months and 17:00 in the winter months). Check out sunset times.
Directions and parking:
For those with vehicles, a recommended parking:
Ganei Yehoshua parking lot, Rokach 94, Tel Aviv-Yafo (Ahuzat HaHof parking lot). From there walk the main path of the park heading south to the lake.
Ganei Yehoshua Park (Yarkon Park) – kurkar parking lot, entrance from Rokach Street, Ramat Gan, number 74 (free parking). From there walk through seven mills towards the northwest corner of the lake.
How to get to Ganei Yehoshua Park in Tel Aviv-Yafo, via public transportation:
Buses: 278, 44, 47, 48, 57
Israel Railways: Ashkelon – Netanya line, Beer Sheva Central line – Kfar Saba, Beit Shemesh – Netanya line, Binyamina – Rehovot line, Herzliya – Jerusalem / Yitzhak Navon line.
The project is presented by Artport, and is done with the generous support of Mifal Hapayis, Asylum Arts, and Ganei Yehoshua (Yarkon Park).
