Art Guides: Jerusalem
Following is a sample list of museums and galleries in Israel. Please consult each institution’s website to confirm opening hours and activities ahead of your visit.
Museums
Israel Museum and Anna Ticho House
Founded in 1965, The Israel Museum is the country’s preeminent encyclopedic museum. It houses an impressive collection of archeological artifacts and displays, as well as an extensive contemporary art collection. Its 20-acre campus, magnificently renovated in 2011 by James Carpenter Architects, includes Isamu Noguchi’s Billy Rose Art Garden and work by Anish Kapoor, James Turrell, and Olafur Eliasson.
Located on the seam between east and west Jerusalem, Museum on the Seam presents contemporary art that explores the unique aspects of Israel’s socio-political reality.
Galleries and Alternative Spaces
“Al-Ma’mal” is an Arabic word meaning “workshop” or “small factory,” and was also the name of a factory that made traditional handmade floor-tiles in the old city of Jerusalem at the turn of the century. The foundation was established in 1998, having grown out of the commercial gallery, Anadiel. A group of Palestinian artists, architects and active individuals in the cultural scene established the foundation with the primary aim of promoting, instigating, disseminating and making art in Palestine. Al-Ma’mal is a catalyst for realizing art projects with local and visiting artists through residencies, educational outreach, and exhibition programs.
A collective gallery founded in 2005 by five artists, Barbur Gallery is an independent, nonprofit space that functions as a platform for critical debate on social issues, while developing projects within local communities. The gallery’s framework consists of monthly exhibitions and weekly screenings, lectures, workshops, music performances and other events.
Founded by Sala-Manca Group and the Jerusalem Foundation with the mission of creating a forum for collaboration between artists of different media, as well as curators, architects, designers, and researchers to collaborate, The Mamuta Project is housed in The Hansen House Center for Design, Media and Technology. It is comprised of artists’ workspaces that include a video, sound, and electronics labs, guest apartments, and a wood, metal, and plastics workshop. Focusing on collaboration and technology, The Mamuta Project creates work on site, and in collaboration with institutions and individuals in Israel and abroad.
MUSLALA is an art project in the form of a walking tour of Musrara (“Morasha” in Hebrew), neighborhood that sits on the seam between Jewish and Arab Jerusalem. Maps are provided at the lobby of Lev Ram Building, where The Ministry of Education is housed, which functions as the starting point of the route. Visitors are also welcomed to print a map directly from Muslala’s website.
Art Cube at The Artists’ Studios