When waves connect people: a moving exhibition in memory of Ido Aviv
The group brings together people dealing with mental health challenges and surfers from the wider community at the water's edge, creating a space where waves blur boundaries, build self-confidence, and enable new human connections.
What does a real connection between people look like? Sometimes it starts right in the heart of the sea. The integrated surfing group "Anchor in the Water" (Ogen ba-mayim), operating as part of the "Amim" program of the Association of Community Centers in collaboration with the Surf Cycle surfing club in Kiryat Yam, summarizes a year of exceptional activity with a moving photo exhibition that will open on August 18 at Beit Heine in Kiryat Haim.
The group brings together people dealing with mental health challenges and surfers from the wider community at the water's edge, creating a space where waves blur boundaries, build self-confidence, and enable new human connections. Throughout the year, participants found in the sea not only a hobby, but also a place of belonging, growth, and healing.
For the second year, the exhibition is dedicated to the memory of Ido Aviv (of blessed memory), a surfing instructor at the Surf Cycle club who fell in the Iron Swords war. Ido believed with all his heart in the power of surfing to connect people and in the ability of the sea to serve as a healing and empowering space for every person. His vision continues to live on through the community activity and the connections formed within the group.
Behind the camera lens is Daniel Shalmona, the community integration leader of the "Amim" program at the Beit Heine community center. Throughout the year, Daniel documented the small and big moments of the participants in the water and outside of it. Her photographs, which will be presented at the exhibition, tell the story of a community built around the love of the sea and the belief in the power of people to grow together.
In a particularly moving way, Daniel discovered in her personal archive an old photograph of Ido surfing in the sea, years before she knew his story. The late encounter with his image and his vision led to the decision to dedicate the exhibition to his memory and to continue spreading the values he led.
The exhibition will be opened by Ami Aviv, Ido's mother, who will share his personal story, his great love for the sea, and the legacy he left behind. Alongside her, two of the group's participants will share the personal journey they went through via surfing and the way in which the waves became a tool for coping, hope, and rehabilitation.
The "Anchor in the Water" exhibition is much more than a cultural event. It is a reminder that a strong community is created when people choose to see each other beyond definitions, and that the sea, like life, can carry us further when we surf together.
