The Good Places
A new artistic initiative presents the Technion campus through the personal experiences of 16 students
“I discovered this place one pleasant evening when I wanted to give my mind a break from work. I put on my running shoes and went for a walk around the campus. I always try to take new, unknown routes, so I chose this sidewalk along the busy road. For some reason, I looked up and saw a patch of sky amid the dense trees around. The area, covered with bushes, immediately made me feel at home, as it reminded me of Shimla — a city in Northern India, which I am blessed to call my home.” With these words, Shivani Pundir, an Indian Ph.D. student at the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, describes Reiskin Promenade at the Technion. “This promenade at the Technion became my route for gratitude and calm.”
Pundir is one of 16 students who gathered in the fall of 2024 for a workshop in which each participant marked a place on the campus map where they had a memorable personal experience. The students, some Israeli and some international, chose the locations and wrote about their experiences, creating a unique, dispersed exhibition consisting of 16 signposts spread across the campus.
According to Dr. Janna Shainsky-Roitman, director of the Office of the Dean of Students, “In this challenging time, it was especially important for us to connect students to the Technion and give them a sense that this is their home. We chose to do this through art, a universal language, allowing the international and local student communities to leave a personal mark on the places and paths where they spend so many months and years.”
Emma Afterman, director of Technion International said “I think (the project) is wonderful because it shows that the Technion is not only about study and doing research… there’s another side, a personal side. I think it’s important for us to have that reflected on the campus, and that was the idea here.”
Tamir Khoury, a student at the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, chose “a good place to cry.” Nivedita Lalitha Raveendran, an Indian postdoctoral fellow at the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, fell in love with the plaza beneath the bridge opposite the central library, where she often heard students playing music or singing along. Mijal Perez from Argentina, a student at the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, chose the same spot, for another reason; here she once lay at night, contemplating her future. Saar Tzour-Shaday, a student at the Henry and Marilyn Taub Faculty of Computer Science, chose Lokey Park, where she recalls a memorable afternoon with her partner – and a swarm of mosquitoes.
Ivy Bhattacharya, an Indian doctoral student at the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, selected the swing at the entrance to the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering. “This swing often satisfies my desire for a couple of moments of stolen respite, whether in the middle of a hectic workday or on lazy weekend mornings,” she said. “It allows me to drift off into my interesting world of dreams and personal list of ten-year-plans.”
The 16 signposts in the exhibition serve as unique landmarks, each featuring a QR code linking to the students’ stories. Exhibition curator Valeria Geselev explains, “Mapping through personal stories reminds the Technion community and its visitors that this place of knowledge, innovation, and academic achievement also holds many personal dimensions. The exhibition provides a platform for international students, encourages interaction between them and local students, and strengthens their connection to the space.”
Geselev notes that the project was inspired by artist Candy Chang, who initiated an art intervention titled “Kissing, Crying and Freaking Out in Public,” (Hong Kong, 2013) aimed at creating new possibilities for the way we describe our places.
Project Team:
- Curator: Valeria Geselev
- Managing Committee: Dr. Janna Shainsky-Roitman (director, Dean of Students Office), Emma Afterman (managing director, Technion International), Efi Barkai Goral (DEI officer), Ilona Izgaiv (head of Culture and Welfare Unit, Dean of Students Office)
- Project Assistant: Dana Aloni
- Graphic Design: Hagar Messer and Ofri Fortis
