The Jerusalem Biennale 2015

Present Work

September 24 - November 5

Biennale 2015 further emphasized the idea of combining the contemporary with the Jewish and challenged curators and artists to integrate relevant issues from current Jewish discourse in their exhibitions and artworks.

Nearly 200 participating artists, half of them from outside Israel and among them leading artists like Sigalit Landau, Motti Mizrachi, Pablo Lobato, Andi Arnovitz and Maya Zack, participated in Biennale 2015.

7 venues around Jerusalem's center, including the iconic Tower of David Museum and the prestigious Van Leer Research institution, hosted 10 core exhibitions. 3 more venues hosted collateral events.

Unprecedented media coverage included an item in the New York Times and five articles in the Jerusalem Post.

The Biennale saw more than 10,000 independent visitors and dozens of organized groups.

26 partner institutes and organizations, as well as hundreds of individuals, were closely involved with the production.

Exhibitions 2015

The Biennale was invited to exhibit a selection of the works from Biennale2015 as part of the JFN annual conference in San Diego in April 2016.

Biennale 2015 Venues

Achim Hasid Complex

The Achim Hasid complex includes two historic Armenian buildings that were built in the beginning of the 20th century, and a large front yard.

The venue is located in the center of Emek Refaim Street - one of the most trendy and dynamic areas of Jerusalem. The "Achim Hasid" company, which builds luxury apartments in Jerusalem for the last 40 years, enabled the Biennale to use the complex for two months as part of Biennale2013.

Opening Hours:

Chol Hamoed Sukkot: 10:00-19:00

Sunday-Thursday 10:00-16:00

Friday: 10:00-14:00

From October 11th: Fridays: 10:00-14:00 and for Guided tours

The Worldwide North Africa Jewish Heritage Center

The Worldwide North Africa Jewish Heritage Center, is a unique center of culture based in Jerusalem. It offers the general public with permanent and temporary exhibitions showing the extraordinary history and heritage of the Jews communities of North Africa. The crown of the center is an audio-visual presentation, that include documents, movies, music, bibliography, and pictures telling the thrilling narrative of the Jewish communities in Morocco, Algeria and Tunis.

FOR GUIDED TOURS ONLY

Every Wednesday: Guided tour at 12:00

The First Train Station

A vibrant Food and Culture center. hosting some of the best restaurants of Jerusalem, Contemporary Design stores, Local farmers market and ongoing events program.

Opening Hours:

Sunday-Thursday 10:00-22:00

Fridays: 10:00-16:00

Hechal Shlomo

Hechal Shlomo building, located in heart of Jerusalem, has served in its first years as the seat of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. The building, that was built to host the chamber of the Chief Rabbi, functions today as the Wolfson Museum for Jewish Art. The museum holds one of the 10 most important Judaica collections in the world. Alongside those magnificent treasures, the exhibition "My soul thirsts" took place as part of the Biennale.

Sunday-Thurday: 10:00-17:00

Schechter Institute

The Schechter Institutes is dedicated to the advancement of pluralistic Jewish Education. The Schechter Institutes provides support to four non-profit organizations based in Jerusalem, Israel and forms an educational umbrella that includes an the largest M.A. program in Jewish Studies in Israel with 670 Israeli students and 1360 graduates.

Bible Lands Museum

The Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem opened its doors to the public on May 11, 1992, and has since earned international acclaim as a universal center for cultural and educational programming. It is the only museum of its kind in the world, where the civilizations of the Ancient Near East are brought to life from the dawn of civilization to the early Christian era.

Hamiklat

Hamiklat Art gallery, located in the Charedi nighberhood of Makor Baruch, was opened 15 years ago by Ika Israeli. It is a place that create to connection between Art and the core of Charedi communities of Jerusalem.

Copy of Tower of David Museum

The Tower of David Museum of the History of Jerusalem is located in the medieval citadel known as the Tower of David, near the Jaffa Gate, the historic entrance to the Old City.

The Citadel is a fascinating archaeological site. The finds uncovered within are a testimony to Jerusalem’s eventful past and produce a representation of Jerusalem and its various historical periods in microcosm. The Citadel’s towers offer a 360-degree view of the Old City of Jerusalem as well as the city’s modern areas.

Opening Hours:

Sunday-Thursday 9:00-16:00, Fridays: 9:00-14:00

Copy of Polonsky Building at Van Leer Research Institute

The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute (VLJI) is a leading intellectual center for the interdisciplinary study and discussion of issues related to philosophy, society, culture, and education.

The Institute gives expression to the wide range of opinions in Israel and takes particular pride in its role as an incubator and creative home for many of the most important civil society efforts to enhance and deepen Israeli democracy. The Institute continues to realize its vision in the areas of culture, identity, and social unity.

Opening Hours:

Sunday-Thursday 10:00-16:00

Copy of Skirball Museum, HUC

Established in 1963 as a post-doctoral center of archaeological and biblical studies, the Jerusalem campus has grown since 1971 to serve as the center of HUC-JIR’s Israel experience for stateside students, including theYear-In-Israel Program, and prepares Israeli students for leadership in the Israel Rabbinical Program, M.A. Program in Pluralistic Jewish Education with the Melton Centre of Hebrew University, and the Blaustein Center for Pastoral Counseling’s Mezorim Program.

From October 11th: for Guided tours only