Tel-Hai Magazine 2023-2024

A haven of creativity and inspiration before, during, and after the war

The Tel-Hai Arts Institute

Established in 1956 by the residents of Kibbutz Tel-Hai and the surrounding settlements, the Tel-Hai Arts Institute is the only art and design school located in the northern periphery of Israel and serves as a regional art-cultural center. In its early days, the Institute offered a vari ety of courses and workshops in arts and crafts: dance, glass, weaving, ceramics, painting, music and more, establishing the infrastructure for what would later become Tel-Hai College. Over the years, three distinct departments within the In stitute took shape: plastic arts, silver smithing, and ceramics; each department Dr. Gal Shahar Director of the Tel-Hai Arts Institute

preserves traditional techniques and technologies, a practice especially unique in a sector that is moving towards digiti zation. Situated at Tel-Hai’s western campus in Kiryat Shmona, the Arts Institute was forced to close its doors to students this past academic year due to the war, with many of its students and staff evacuated and dispersed throughout the country. However, the Institute was determined to maintain contact with its students throughout the year. While working with a much reduced academic and adminis trative team, the Institute devised alter

native plans and provided activities that offered a haven of stability and inspira tion. These activities included volunteer ing to assist the evacuated communities, holding creative discussion circles, con ducting enrichment sessions and work shops, and organizing visits to exhibi tions. Art, activism and community - the Arts Institute and its students take initiative during the war The flagship project of the Institute emerged spontaneously a week after the

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