PLACE, CULTURE AND IDENTITY - SUMMER MUSIC IN UPPER GALILEE

The Kfar Blum festival is an annual chamber music festival at a kibbut z in northern Israel involving three public bodies. Soon after its ina uguration, it was dominated by audiences of elite groups who gave it a specific character and made it a highly desirable social event. The d emand created for participation caused the festival to change in chara cter, and what had been an artistic celebration became a cultural comm odity. This challenged the overall purpose of the festival and brought changes in artistic direction, as new audiences were sought through p rogrammes with wider appeal. The Kfar Blum festival is an example of a contested arena reflecting social trends in Israel. Place becomes a m etaphor for social trends.