Jerusalem Biennale

Jerusalem Biennale
Jerusalem Biennale Logo
The poster for the first Jerusalem Biennale that was held in 2013
Frequency	Biennial, every two years
Location(s)	Jerusalem
Country	Israel
Website	https://jerusalembiennale.org/

The Jerusalem Biennale is a contemporary art event taking place every second year, since 2013. The Jerusalem Biennale occurs in different historical and modern locations in Jerusalem. It is dedicated to exploring the places in which the contemporary art world and the Jewish world of content intersect. The Biennale is a stage for professional artists, who create and refer in their work to Jewish thought, spirit, tradition or experience, to exhibit their work in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Biennale is a member of the Biennial Foundation, together with more than a 100 Biennales from around the world.

Highlights year by year[]

2013 Jerusalem Biennale (1^st Edition)

The 1st Jerusalem Biennale was initiated and produced by Ram Ozeri and held in Fall 2013. Participation was by invitation only and the art was showcased in 5 venues located throughout the city. The Biennale hosted works by more than 60 artists, most of them from Israel, and raised the questions of “What is Contemporary Jewish Art?” and “Does the category even exist?”  

2015 Jerusalem Biennale (2^nd Edition)

The 2nd edition was marked by a retrospective of the work of Moshe Zabari and a group exhibition by New York-based artists. The main exhibition was a group show entitled, ‘‘Jerusalem. Passages’’ with the works of Brazilian artist and Israeli artists , Sigalit Landau and Motti Mizrachi. A broader range of perspectives was presented, with a significantly larger portion of non-Israeli and well-established artists taking part. The title, Present Work, was tracing the search for a link between Jerusalem and Jewish communities all over the world.

2017 Jerusalem Biennale (3^rd Edition)

With the new record of number of national representations, the 3rd Biennale, introduced a Watershed moment: it was the largest gathering of Contemporary Jewish Art enthusiasts in the history of Jerusalem. The theme of Watershed, as a geological term, examines the water pattern of streams and rivers that split and converge but can also be used as a metaphor for the way people split and converge as individuals and groups. It is used to state a moment of an important twist - an event that changed the course of history.

A two-day conference, titled “Watershed: Boundaries and Spaces in Contemporary Jewish Art,” was held in cooperation with the Van Leer Jerusalem Research Institute and the Inspire Education Program launched for the first time. Five hundred high school students, from Israel’s geographical and social periphery, visited the Biennale as part of this fully funded program. ^[1][2][3][4]

2019 Jerusalem Biennale (4^th Edition)

50,000 visitors ensured the success of this exhibition, whose hosted works by 243 artists in 31 exhibitions in 14 locations across Jerusalem. Sixty-one events took place in gallery spaces, including live music, dance and theater, discussion panels, poetry readings and workshops. The title of the edition was For Heaven’s Sake!, originating from a well know Hebrew phrase Leshem Shamayim, and representing opposing viewpoints that are at the heart of Jewish discourse, debate and argument. Once again the exhibition demonstrated its highly contemporary character by presenting works mostly produced especially for the JB2019.

Upcoming: 2021 Jerusalem Biennale (5^th Edition)

The Fifth Edition of The Jerusalem Biennale will take place toward the end of 2021 (November 11 - December 30) under the title of Four Cubits (ארבע אמות). In Jewish tradition, the term Four Cubits (ארבע אמות) is used to point out a person’s private space. A cubit, or Ama in Hebrew, is an ancient measurement of length of about 0.5 meters. Four cubits are therefore about 2 meters - the 2 meters radius circle surrounding a person is his/her personal space.

Under this title, JB2021’s program will consist of three major components: Take Me Home, Venues and PHASEs. All three will have both an in-person and online presence, according to the hybrid model.

In Between

The Jerusalem Biennale as an organisation initiates and produces art exhibitions and events all year long, following the peak events in Jerusalem, in preparation to them or as separate activity. The Biennale has exhibited art exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, San Diego, London, Ancona (north Italy) and Tel Aviv. Exhibitions that were planned for 2020 in Buenos Aires, New York and London were cancelled due to COVID-19. The Biennale created the 2020 Online Program that included interviews with 10 artists from 10 cities around the world.

Notable artists[]

• Marina Abramovic
• Sigalit Landau
• Einat Arif-Galanti
• Pablo Lobato
• Andi Arnovitz
• Motti Mizrachi
• Lynne Avadenka
• Porat Salomon
• Shai Azoulay

Staff^[5][]

• Ram Ozeri – Founder and Director
• Aaron Paz – Director of Communications & Artistic Contributor
• Dorin Gedolim – Director of Events & Programming
• Lydia Weitzman – Public Relations

References[]

External links[]

• Official website
• The Jerusalem Biennale on Facebook

This Israel-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

• v
• t