“Noa Eshkol: No Time to Dance” marks the centenary of the birth of artist, choreographer, and dance theorist Noa Eshkol (1924-2007). The exhibition presents Eshkol’s extensive work and research into choreography, language studies, dance, and textile art alongside work by contemporary artists that are inspired by her practice, including Sharon Lockhart, Omer Krieger, and Yael Bartana. A new commissioned work by artist Ayumi Paul, and a performance by choreographer and dancer Janne-Camilla Lyster, are also featured in the show. The exhibition is curated by Kathleen Reinhardt, Director of the Georg Kolbe Museum, following her participation in the Artis Curatorial Seminar in Israel (2019).

The exhibition’s title references a turning point in Eshkol’s career, marked by the beginning of the Yom Kippur War in October 1973. “This is no time to dance, we shall wait until the war is over,” she said at the outbreak of the war. At the time, Eshkol stopped dancing and began creating large-format textile assemblages, or wall carpets. Hand sewn using found fabric scraps, Eshkol continued this practice with members of her dance ensemble for the remainder of her life.