The Folding Chair Conference was an experimental pedagogical project initiated by the School of the City after the cancellation of its first conference during the COVID-19 lockdown. Originally planned as a city-wide gathering in Tel Aviv, the project was reconfigured to operate through distance, material presence,
and situated practice rather than shared physical assembly.

The project took as its point of departure forty folding chairs stored at Liebling Haus, part of a long-term pedagogical collection assembled by Yaacov Kaufman. Once distributed to participants’ homes across several cities, the chairs formed a decentralized learning field in which artistic and intellectual processes unfolded without a predetermined theme or outcome.

After a prolonged COVID lockdown in Berlin, I returned to Liebling Haus for a short residency that engaged the chair collection as an archive rather than a functional tool. The work involved sustained research into the typologies, mechanisms, and histories of the chairs, alongside plans for further interventions through use, modification, and performative activation. These processes aimed to extend the archive beyond documentation into a site of ongoing inquiry.

The chairs and related materials were photographed, printed using a unique technique, and scanned again. The planned catalogue was never printed due to lack of funding, and the project came to a halt four to five years ago. This page presents the final state of that unfinished archival transformation.

A yellow suitcase and a black bag are placed on the ground in front of airplane doors on an aircraft.
A person with long hair and a backpack standing near a yellow shopping cart inside a store, viewed through a glass door.
Image of a wooden crib and a wooden table with a flowerpot containing green foliage, all placed against a plain wall.
A room with various furniture including a yellow armchair, a wooden stool, a black rolling chair, and a black folding chair. Items also include a yellow tray and some hanging chains.
A person sitting at a desk with a laptop and a tablet in a well-lit room. The photo has digital distortions and horizontal lines.
A room with a desk, a chair, and a shelf. Two people are standing and talking near the door.
A metal folding chair with a woven multicolored fabric seat and backrest, positioned on a wooden floor next to a potted plant against a beige wall.
A colorful woven chair, a potted plant, and a small, round table on a wooden floor in a room with light-colored walls.
A stack of folded chairs leaning against a metal shelf in a room, with a desk and various items including a computer monitor and clutter in the background.
A cozy home office with a black desk, potted plant, books, a blue notebook, a white chair, a shelving unit with more books, and a black office chair in the background.
A wooden dining table with a glass of water, headphones, a laptop computer, and papers. A wooden chair is pulled out from the table. In the background, there is a bookshelf filled with books.
A cluttered home office with a wooden folding chair in the center, surrounded by shelves filled with books, files, and office supplies. A desk with a computer monitor and a chair is on the right, while a bookshelf and various items are on the left. B
Office space with a potted plant on a table, a chair, and abstract artwork on the wall.
A floor with a chair and some potted plants in the corner of a room, with a door or window nearby.
A folded blue striped chair leaning against a wall in a room with a tiled floor.
A small table with a blue and green checkered tablecloth inside a room with yellow tile flooring. There is a large gray refrigerator or cabinet in the background.
Three chairs of different styles are lined up against a wall, with a colorful patterned rug partially visible on the floor.
A dining table with three chairs: one modern metal and leather chair, one wooden chair with vertical slats, and a metal chair with a rounded backrest, with a colorful patterned tablecloth underneath.
Two metal chairs with round wooden seats, one with a backrest and one without, placed next to each other in a room with light-colored wooden flooring. There are two green shelves in the corner and a white table with white chairs.
Empty room with a chair, a small table with a computer monitor, and a person standing next to the table, in front of a window.
Two wooden chairs with armrests and a small round table between them, placed in a room with tiled floor and white walls, with a door or window in the background.
Two wooden chairs with armrests, a small table with two glasses, and a sliding glass door on a patio or balcony.
View through a window to an interior room with children sitting at a table and a folded wooden table in front.
A small wooden table with a grid-like pattern on top, holding multiple small potted plants, is positioned in front of a window with blinds.
A wooden chair with armrests positioned on a wooden floor in a room. To the left, part of a desk with a cup and some objects on it. The overall image is blurry and has horizontal lines running across it.
Colorful image of a wooden chair, with a window and outdoor scene in the background, with visual distortion and horizontal lines.
A wooden bench in front of a yellow wall in a room with bookshelves and a glass door.
Empty office space with black chair, desk with office supplies, and some papers.
Empty blue folding chair placed outside on a tiled patio area near a glass table under a patio roof.
An office space with a folding chair, a wooden table, two blue chairs, a laptop, a black printer, and a white trash bin, with sunlight coming through windows.
Overhead view of a glass table with a metal wire chair, a table knife, a napkin, and a dish with lemons, on a tiled floor.
Outdoor scene with a foldable chair made of metal and woven strips, positioned near a building with an open window, on a concrete patio.
A small meeting room with a table and three chairs, one with a colorful checkered pattern, and a shelf with a tissue box, a mug, and papers. Part of a person is visible on the right side.
A red and black chair with a metal frame and a red seat and backrest, flanked by blue chairs with metal frames, in a room with a green and yellow patterned carpet, glass tables, and stacked chairs in the background.
Colorful chairs and a table in a room, with a wooden floor and some items on the table.
A classroom scene with a pink chair, a black computer monitor, a bookshelf filled with books, and a whiteboard.
An interior scene featuring a wooden bookshelf filled with books, a folded red chair, a black chair with a white seat, a potted plant, and a white door with a small circular window.
A black folding chair in front of a white shelf, with an orange chair with a white cushion behind it in a room with light-colored floors and a cream wall.
Empty classroom with two chairs, one black and one pink, in front of a closed door with a window, and bookshelves filled with books.
A blue folding chair in a room near a door, with a small table on the right side.
A blue folding chair in front of an open door in a room with light-colored walls and floor.
A wooden chair with a curved back and angled legs, positioned in a room with a light-colored floor and white walls.
Empty kitchen with a wooden dining table and chairs, a small refrigerator, and a trash can, with a window on the wall.
A wooden chair with a high back and armrests, next to a wooden table with a metal frame, in a room with a white desk and a glass of water in the background.
An office desk with a laptop, several books, notebooks, a wired mouse, and a water bottle. A wooden chair with a cushion is pulled out from the desk.
A chair with a small table attached on one side stands on a round rug in a room with light-colored walls and hardwood flooring.
An empty black chair with metal legs placed on a small circular rug in front of a glass door or window, with a few sticks or branches on the seat.
A wooden chair placed on a table with a yellow wall in the background.
Empty room with a single chair in the center, beige walls, and a window with blinds.
Empty black folding chair in front of a white wall with a wooden table and two sawhorse-style supports in a room with a white door.
Empty classroom with chairs, a table, and a whiteboard in the background.
A dining table with three chairs in a room with white walls and hardwood floor.
Interior room with a wooden chair, a small table, a wall-mounted shelf with objects, and a closed door.
A folding outdoor chair with a slatted back and seat, placed on a patterned rug in a room with beige walls
A blue folding chair with a slatted seat, positioned at an angle inside a room with wooden floors and a window. A white table with a box of playing cards is partially visible in the foreground.
Empty room with wooden chairs and tables, and a ladder or step stool in the background.
A small outdoor patio with a wooden table, a pink folding chair, a green folding chair, and a hanging chair with a wooden top and blue cushion. The patio is on a balcony with buildings in the background.
Outdoor scene with two folding chairs, a small table with a tablecloth, and a ladder under a bright sky, in front of buildings with windows.
Interior of a room with a high stool, a chair, and an iron resting on a small table, with part of a glass wall and an electrical outlet visible.
A white, circular table with a small decorative object in the center, set in a room with bookcases filled with books on the left side.

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