Corinna Kern

Photojournalist & Documentary Photographer

www.corinnakern.com

Tel Aviv's Central Bus Station

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TEL AVIV‘S CENTRAL BUS STATION

Opened in 1993 with hopes of rejuvenating one of its poorest neighbourhoods, Tel Aviv‘s Central Bus Station is now commonly referred to as “the Monstrosity“. An urban development dream gone bad, the seven-storey jumble of grungy corridors was once envisaged as a slick shopping centre serving streams of commuters. Instead, with many of its store fronts long shuttered, its labyrinth of passageways has given rise to an eclectic mix of commerce and culture. A Philippine food market serves a large community of carers for the elderly, there‘s a makeshift Philippine church, a folksy Yiddish book centre and money changers. Dancers, musicians and circus artists use its free space to practice and perform, and the homeless are also drawn into its shadows. The station‘s diversity reflects the neighbourhood, where a large foreign migrant population lives in mostly run-down apartment blocks.

Girls from Eritrea play in an o...Tel Aviv, Israel, May 25, 2019.

Girls from Eritrea play in an open area opposite the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel, May 25, 2019.

A general view of an entrance r...Tel Aviv, Israel April 2, 2019.

A general view of an entrance road into the basement of the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel April 2, 2019.

A man poses for an artist as a ...Aviv, Israel, January 11, 2019.

A man poses for an artist as a model at the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel, January 11, 2019.

A man pushes a trolley with goo... Tel Aviv, Israel May 29, 2019.

A man pushes a trolley with goods into the office of a maintenance manager at the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel May 29, 2019.

A poster rests against a counte...el Aviv, Israel, April 2, 2019.

A poster rests against a counter in an abandoned cinema in the basement of the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel, April 2, 2019.

Actors from the Mystorin Theatr... Tel Aviv, Israel May 25, 2019.

Actors from the Mystorin Theatre Ensemble are seen inside a former box office as they perform in the group's show "Seven," a site-specific act that uses all seven floors of the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel May 25, 2019.

Seats are seen inside an abando...Aviv, Israel, January 13, 2019.

Seats are seen inside an abandoned cinema in the basement of the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel, January 13, 2019.

Merry Christ Palacios, 37, a ca...the station's hallways.

Merry Christ Palacios, 37, a caregiver from Philippines, prays during a church service held at the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel, April 13, 2019. Palacios shops at the station and worships in its church. "It's special because I can find everything we need to buy," she said, but added visitors need to be "very careful about their bag, cellphone, money and things" as they navigate the station's hallways.

Dana Forer, 40, an actress and ...with our performance."

Dana Forer, 40, an actress and manager of the Mystorin Theatre Ensemble, performs in the group's show "Seven," a site-specific act that uses all seven floors of the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel, May 25, 2019.

"The Central Bus Station is a playground for imagination," Forer said. "I feel full of joy and creativity when we light up the dark spaces with our performance."

Stav Pinto, 24, uses a hula hoo...rent from the others."

Stav Pinto, 24, uses a hula hoop as she practices her acrobatics skills during a weekly informal circus community meeting at the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel July 1, 2019. Pinto employs her circus talents to teach life skills to special needs children. Pinto and her hula hoop take part in an informal circus group that meets on Monday evenings.

"There's a magical air to the Central Bus Station that reminds me of a dark urban forest," she said. "It's a place of adventure where you can meet a variety of people and be exposed to different cultures. Every time I walk through it, I can discover a new place that is completely different from the others."

Passengers stand in a queue as ...Tel Aviv, Israel, May 25, 2019.

Passengers stand in a queue as they wait to board a bus at the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel, May 25, 2019.

An Israeli soldier smokes as he...Aviv, Israel, February 3, 2019.

An Israeli soldier smokes as he waits with others to board buses at a terminal at the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel, February 3, 2019.

A Druze woman selling tradition... Aviv, Israel February 3, 2019.

A Druze woman selling traditional food at a makeshift stall serves a customer at the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel February 3, 2019.

Girls from Eritrea play in an o...el Aviv, Israel, July 01, 2019.

Girls from Eritrea play in an open area inside the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 01, 2019.

Actors from the Mystorin Theatr...viv, Israel, December 27, 2018.

Actors from the Mystorin Theatre Ensemble, and a passerby, walk down the stairs during the group's show "Seven," a site-specific act that uses all seven floors of the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel, December 27, 2018.

A woman sells vegetables to cus...el Aviv, Israel April 13, 2019.

A woman sells vegetables to customers at the Filipino food market at the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel April 13, 2019.

A woman cleans the floor in a s... Tel Aviv, Israel May 29, 2019.

A woman cleans the floor in a space that functions as a gallery displaying street art, close to bus terminals on an upper floor of the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel May 29, 2019.

Screens are seen in an office u... Tel Aviv, Israel May 29, 2019.

Screens are seen in an office used by maintenance staff in the basement of the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel May 29, 2019.

Tamar Lehman, 32, social counse...the beauty," she said.

Tamar Lehman, 32, social counsellor for mentally ill young adults, plays an accordion next to books placed inside a cultural center used by "Yung Yidish," a non-profit organisation aiming to preserve Yiddish culture, at the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel, May 25, 2019. Lehman comes to the station often to practise dancing and play the accordion.

"I felt this building is just like the people I work with - they may appear totally confused within themselves, not understood, bizarre, but the more you learn about the people and their inner structure you slowly become more familiar with their inner world, with all its craziness, and you see the beauty," she said.

A man walks by as a woman waits...Aviv, Israel, January 11, 2019.

A man walks by as a woman waits outside a hairdresser shop at the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel, January 11, 2019.

People eat food purchased from ... Tel Aviv, Israel May 25, 2019.

People eat food purchased from a nearby Filipino food market inside the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel May 25, 2019.

Plastic chairs and a screen are...Tel Aviv, Israel, May 29, 2019.

Plastic chairs and a screen are seen in a division of a synagogue in the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel, May 29, 2019.

A child sleeps on a couch insid...Tel Aviv, Israel, May 25, 2019.

A child sleeps on a couch inside a cultural center used by "Yung Yidish," a non-profit organisation aiming to preserve Yiddish culture, at the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel, May 25, 2019.

A broken mannequin is seen next... Aviv, Israel January 19, 2019.

A broken mannequin is seen next to an artist's studio at the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel January 19, 2019.

A man sits in his wheelchair as...Tel Aviv, Israel, May 29, 2019.

A man sits in his wheelchair as he feeds his pet parrots at the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel, May 29, 2019.

A urinal is seen in the basemen... Tel Aviv, Israel May 25, 2019.

A urinal is seen in the basement near a sign pointing towards a bomb shelter at the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel May 25, 2019.

Lior Avshalom, 42, and Rotem Co...Tel Aviv, Israel, May 25, 2019.

Lior Avshalom, 42, and Rotem Cohen, 41, actors from the Mystorin Theatre Ensemble, perform in the group's show "Seven," a site-specific act that uses all seven floors of the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel, May 25, 2019.

People play a game of Bingo at ...l Aviv, Israel, April 13, 2019.

People play a game of Bingo at the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel, April 13, 2019.

A vendor carries plastic flower... Tel Aviv, Israel May 29, 2019.

A vendor carries plastic flower decorations out of a shop as he prepares to open the store at the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, Israel May 29, 2019.