In 2009, Shimi opened his first neighbourhood Humus Place in a small village in the Galilee.

​

Besides serving homemade, organic food, the small restaurant also functions as a local art gallery and meeting point, where many local events and festivals were born.

Taking an active and leading part in community building and community strengthening processes in his hometown Tivon, Shimi also calls himself a Social Artist.

​

By initiating and organizing several festivals of civil culture throughout the year, Shimi influenced the cultural life of Tivon in various ways. From smaller weekend events to larger festivals with up to 7000 visitors - the main idea is to create space for everybody to participate and to strengthen spontanious interactions between neighbours.

After the first big success of the local Civil Culture Festivals "Sheikh a Breik" and "November Balconies", Shimi´s work as a community builder took off across all Israel, consulting communities all around the country.