Beit Avi Chai () is a

cultural center A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run. Africa * ...

and

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The long ...

located in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. It was established by the Avi Chai Foundation to promote Jewish-Israeli culture, creativity, and identity. The center is renowned for its diverse array of artistic performances, academic lectures, public events, Podcasts, Web series and visual art exhibitions, which reflect various perspectives on Jewish life, thought, and contemporary Israeli society.

History and establishment

Beit Avi Chai was founded in 2007 with the support of the Avi Chai Foundation, which focuses on fostering Jewish commitment and continuity. The foundation, active in Israel,

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and the former

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, was established by philanthropist

Zalman Bernstein Zalman Chaim Bernstein (; 1926–1999), originally known in his businesses as Sanford Bernstein, was an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist.

to encourage Jewish learning and cultural engagement through various educational and artistic initiatives. The Jerusalem center is the foundation’s flagship project in Israel. The building, located on King George Street in central Jerusalem, was designed by Ada Karmi-Melamede, recipient of the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

for Architecture. Its modern design, featuring clean lines and open spaces, reflects the center's innovative approach to Jewish culture, blending tradition with contemporary artistic and intellectual expression. Beit Avi Chai serves as a platform for dialogue and interaction between diverse segments of Israeli society and the global Jewish community. Its programming covers a wide range of cultural forms, including: Film screenings, Theater performances, musical concerts, Lectures, panel discussions, and workshops focusing on Jewish history, philosophy, literature, and social issues. In addition to its physical space, Its website provides access to recorded lectures, concerts, cultural events, and online courses and digital resources for educators and students interested in Jewish studies. Since 2012, Dr. David Rozenson has served as the director of Beit Avi Chai, and Professor

Avigdor Shinan Professor Avigdor Shinan () is professor emeritus in the departments of Hebrew literature, Hebrew Literature, Yiddish and Comparative Jewish Folklore at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Shinan has served as head of the departments of General ...

acts as the center's academic advisor.

Beit Avi Chai’s Art Gallery

A central part of Beit Avi Chai is its

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...

gallery, which hosts one major exhibition each year, accompanied by a catalog. The poet

Amichai Chasson Amichai Chasson (also Amichai Hasson, Hebrew: עמיחי חסון; born 1987) is an Israeli poet, curator and filmmaker. Since 2015, Chasson has served as the artistic director and chief curator at the Beit Avi Chai cultural museum in Jerusale ...

serves as the chief curator of the Gallery. Notable exhibitions in Beit Avi Chai’s gallery have featured works by Jewish-Russian artist Anatoli Kaplan, Israel Prize-winning painter Pinchas Litvinovsky, as well as prominent Israeli artists like Avraham Ofek, Amos Kenan, Ronny Someck, and Marek Yanai.Liane Grunberg Wakabayashi
Painter Marek Yanai: A hidden treasure in plain view The On the Threshold exhibition of Marek Yanai’s art continues at Beit Avi Chai until the end of July
''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...

'', June 25, 2022

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Art museums and galleries in Israel 2007 establishments in Israel Museums in Israel Art museums and galleries established in 2007 Buildings and structures in Jerusalem Jewish Israeli culture Culture of Jerusalem

History and establishment

Beit Avi Chai’s Art Gallery

See also

References

External links