Ismi Salma

Ismi Salma is a place like no other. A rough feminine voice rises from below and interrupts the darkness of Ismi Salma. Two silhouettes enter the space, dancing in circles in time to the sound; images and melodies accompany heavy vibrations. It is 2 am and here the space is open for choreography in continuous development.

On the second floor of an anonymous building located in the Bauhaus core of Tel Aviv, Ismi Salma (named after myself, Salma) is a space dedicated to the grand utopia of the arts, a place where different languages and expressive forms converge and clash; music, poetry and dance creating different cultural identities in the most unexpected and improbable ways.

To give the place new life, we took inspiration from the city, placing a metal mashrabiya, representing Tel Aviv’s urban scene, onto the vast glass facade watching over Dizengoff Street. A memory of a time gone by, where underneath the mashrabiya’s shade people used to gather and converse, protected from the blinding light of day. This sense of welcome can also be found in the entrance, where the mashrabiya is partially decorated with colored glass. Sound, image and movement were the key concepts for the design of the ceiling, composed of countless golden coins, like the decoration on the edge of a belly dancer’s veil. Constantly changing holograms appear and disappear on the bare walls and pavement.

Ismi Salma is the story of a young woman who left Morocco to reach the promised land on foot. It is the tale of a journey, of abandon, of seeking and exploring that knows no boundaries. Here, all sounds of all cultures are taken in without prejudice.