Tel-Hai Magazine 2023-2024

the walls and personal space of the home. This artwork reflects the struggle, but also celebrates small joys and cre ative solutions for those who became refugees in their own land. Tel-Hai as a northern cultural artistic center Far from urban spaces, surrounded by the landscapes of the Upper Galilee that offer us inspiration and perspective, the Tel-Hai Arts Institute trains artists and designers to become active in their fields. Moreover, it aims to instill in them an understanding of the broader power of art to create a social and educational cli mate of possibilities for self-expression, acceptance, and flexible, creative think ing. In recent years, the Tel-Hai Arts Insti tute has positioned itself as a cultural and artistic center. Under the initiative of the Institute Director, Dr. Gal Shahar, a complex of exhibitions was established on the eastern campus of Tel-Hai Col lege, a collaboration between the two institutions. All exhibitions are open to the public free of charge, with the goal of strengthening the connection between leading and contemporary art, and the students and residents of the northern periphery. The exhibition spaces include: 1. The Other Side Gallery: displayed in the open space of the campus building, the artwork invites a daily flow of thou sands of students from diverse sectors, genders, and fields of interest, as well as local residents and visitors, enticing con versations about art. The gallery, official ly recognized by the Ministry of Culture, hosts at least four exhibitions per year, featuring leading artists in the field. Pri ority is given to artists from the northern (and primarily Galilean) region. Tours and guided visits to the various exhibi tions are conducted by students, starting from their third year in the Art depart ment, with support from the department coordinator and curators. In the initial months of the conflict, the

gallery space was lent to the IDF and was used as a lodging area for the military forces, with the last exhibition, of Druze artist, Amira Zian, still on display in the space. Despite the challenges of the war and evacuation, collaborative relation ships with other galleries are being main tained. An example of this is the Memo rial Gallery of Tivon, hosting one of the exhibitions of the Other Side Gallery. 2. The Laila Schwartz Collection: This permanent exhibition contains an exten sive array of drawings, paintings and sculptures created by many of Israel’s leading artists. The collection represents a rare documentation of a period in the history of Israeli art. All the works exhib ited have a common subject – Laila Schwartz, who worked as a nude model for some fifty years. But unlike the com mon perception of a model passively posing at the behest of the artist and viewer, Laila was independent, and played an active role in the artistic pro cess. In lieu of payment for her model ing, Laila would request some of the works the artists created and these have accumulated to form this unique collec tion, documenting her image from vari ous perspectives, in line, color and mate rial, from within which her life story acts

as a source of inspiration. For more information, we invite you to visit the collection catalog here. 3. The Bezaleli Collection: The installa tion of this permanent exhibition was halted by the outbreak of the war. The collection includes tens of drawings, paintings, and prints that were donated to the Institute in the 1980’s by the late art collectors David and Elisheva Beza leli, z”l. Rooted in history, we look towards the future The ongoing war has created unprece dented challenges. The historic stone buildings of Kibbutz Tel-Hai, aban doned after the famous battle, and that became the home of Tel-Hai’s Arts In stitute, stand empty once again. The ed ucational activities of the Institute are set to resume in November 2024 at alterna tive locations. The art department will open in Kibbutz Sha’ar HaAmakim, the ceramics department in Kibbutz Beit Zera, and the jewelry department in Carmiel. It will be another challenging year, during which we will strive to bring together Tel-Hai’s dispersed creative community.

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