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The Holon Municipality initiated and established a unique environmental sculpture project, the only one of its kind in Israel — "Story Gardens" for which Israel's leading artists created environmental sculptures inspired by beloved and familiar children's stories. The project objective was to increase the awareness of and love for children's literature among the younger generation and new immigrants.
Thirty one Story Gardens are currently spread out among various neighborhoods and areas of the city. The sculptures, which were placed in public gardens, are surrounded by greenery and feature signage, benches and children's playground equipment.
The "Little Prince" Garden, in the Jesse Cohen neighborhood, was the first of the five initial Story Gardens established in the city in 2002. There are two unique clusters of Story Gardens, one that includes eight gardens, on Motta Gur St., and one in Hurshat HaYovel ("Jubilee Grove") that offers four more.
The Story Gardens project is part of an overall vision to turn the city of Holon into a national cultural center for children and families. A great many sculptures adorn the city's public parks, main boulevards and entrances, alongside the Israel Children's Museum, BeGova Ha'eynayim ("At Eye Level"), Yamit Water Park, Mediatheque, the Israeli Cartoon and Comics Museum, the Puppet Theatre Center, the Havayeda Teva (Interactive Science Center) and the Israel Digital Art Center.
Soul Bird
Artist David (Dudu) Gerstein's design for this huge sculpture was inspired by "Soul Bird" an allegorical story by author Michal Snunit. The sculpture is made of painted iron and the bird's body is comprised of many drawers, each of which contains one chapter of the story. The sculpture is located at the corner of HaMa'apilim and HaLochamim streets.
On the tab - a detail from the "My Uncle Simcha" Story Garden, author: 0. Hillel, artist: Ruth Zarfati, Motta Gur St., Kiryat Pinchas Eylon.
Shmulikipod (Shmuel the Hedgehog) Artist Noga Yudkowitz designed a group of concrete sculptures painted to resemble hedgehogs, inspired by the story Shmulikipod, created by authors Carmi Charny and Shoshana Heyman. The sculptures may be found on Avraham Yaffe St., Kiryat Yitzhak Rabin.
On the tab - details from the "Noa's Sign Language" Story Garden, author: Nira Harel, artists: Efi Hujesta and Yaniv Shimoni, Motta Gur St., Kiryat Pinchas Eylon.
Where is Pluto?
Artist Dorit Levinstein created a group of sculptures depicting characters inspired by the well known children's story "Where is Pluto?" by noted Israeli author Leah Goldberg. The dog Pluto, the cow, the butterfly and the "family statue" are located on the corner of HaHistadrut and Hankin streets. Many passersby stop to photograph these charming colorful characters. On the tab - a detail from the "Nehama the Louse" Story Garden, author: Meir Shalev, artist: Israela Hargil, Motta Gur St., Kiryat Pinchas Eylon.
Rami Aharoni
Special Projects
Holon Municipality Director's Office
