Magazine
5 Exhibitions To Visit In may
Alexandra Levin, art historian, art guide and DI art expert prepared her list of local exhibitions and cultural events that she highly recommends to visit in May!
1. INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM DAY
More than 100 museums across the country
International Museum Day is celebrated every year in May around the world, with the aim of exposing the public to the cultural, historical and experiential richness that museums offer and encouraging visits to them.
In Israel this year the International Museum Day is celebrated on Thursday, May 15th. On this day over 100 museums across the country will be open to the general public free of charge, including science, art, archaeology, design, history and nature museums. Among the participating museums are: The Israel Museum, The Tel Aviv Museum of Art, The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, The Haifa Museums, The Museum of Islamic Art, The Tel Aviv-Yafo City Museum, The Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, The Mizgaga (Glass Factory) Museum and many others.
This year’s International Museum Day theme is “The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities”. It invites the institutions and the visitors to reimagine the role of museums as essential connectors, innovators and conductors of cultural identity.
One day 15.05
The list of participating museums and their opening hours here: https://www.icom.org.il/event
2. UM SUBIYAN: ORIT AKTA, RAZ AKTA, OFIR AKTA
Zemack Contemporary Art Gallery, Tel Aviv
The world of magic is an inseparable part of global cultural beliefs and perceptions, transcending social classes, ages, and education. The belief in spirits, amulets, and spells has existed and continues to exist in many religions and communities around the world.
In the exhibition “Um Subiyan” (Yemeni for “Mother of Spirits”) the painter Orit Akta and her two children, Ofir and Raz, who practice Yemeni silversmithing (the art of filigree), present paintings and silver jewelry that encapsulate the mysterious and enchanted stories of Yemeni women. The show explores the magical-traditional world of Yemeni Jews and how it has shaped their cultural and ceremonial practices over time.
THE EXHIBITION IS OPEN TILL 31.05.25
ADDRESS: Hei be-Iyar Street 68, Tel Aviv-Yafo
3. FRESHPAINT ART FAIR
Kremenetski Technical Center, Tel Aviv
Freshpaint Art & Design Fair is Israel’s largest and leading annual art and design event. Since the first fair in 2008, it has taken place annually in different locations in Tel Aviv, the vibrant heart of Israel’s cultural scene, attracting a curious and up-to-date audience of over 40,000 visitors each year and serving as a hub for art and culture enthusiasts.
As a commercial platform with a social vision, the “Greenhouse” section of the fair introduces local young and emerging artists to the general public as well as industry professionals. Freshpaint Fair also showcases the works of Israeli designers from diverse fields, including furniture, lighting, textiles, glass, and ceramics.
A gallery and projects section presents solo and group exhibitions, as well as large-scale installations, curated by leading Israeli galleries and independent curators. The Live! section highlights top artists and collectives who create immersive experiences throughout the fair. Each Freshpaint Fair also includes special social and educational projects and unique initiatives developed in partnership with sponsors.
The fair lasts for 6 days from May 21 to May 26.
ADDRESS: Kremenetski Street 7, Tel Aviv-Yafo
4. GUIDED BY LIGHT: Daniel Enkaoua, Dale Chihuly
Litvak Contemporary Gallery, Tel Aviv
The exhibition presents a rich dialogue between Dale Chihuly and Daniel Enkaoua – two artists exploring the relationship between light, material, and time. Chihuly, the renowned American glass artist, and Enkaoua, a French-Israeli painter, work in different mediums but share a common pursuit — capturing that elusive moment when light is transformed into color, transparency, and texture.
Chihuly infuses glass with wild, untamed energy, offering a bold and personal interpretation of the classical Venetian tradition. Enkaoua, by contrast, delves into the intimate connection between the figures and still lifes he paints and the infinite, contemplative backgrounds they inhabit. Both artists, each in their own way, investigate how material — whether molten glass shaped in a blazing workshop or paint applied layer by layer — can become a vessel for capturing time and movement.
THE EXHIBITION IS OPEN TILL 30.06
ADDRESS: Shvil Hamifal St. 3, Tel-Aviv
5. MASTERPIECES
Mishkan Museum of Art, Kibbutz Ein Harod
The Mishkan Museum of Art is located in Kibbutz Ein Harod (Meunad) in northern Israel. It’s much bigger than small kibbutz’ museums.
The exhibition Masterpieces features about 300 works by 47 artists of different generations from the local art scene, who reenact masterpieces of Western art history. Sometimes, this repetition takes the form of a copy, sometimes it involves a change of artistic style or a shift from one medium to another, and it is always created from a new context, in a different artistic, social, or political reality, and under the specific circumstances of a different time and place. The common through line that they all share is the recreation of the entire composition of the original artwork, meaning: As opposed to homage, inspiration, quote, synthesis, or correspondence, these are reenactments.
The exhibition spans two simultaneous levels: the history of Western art, from the Italian Renaissance to Picasso, and the history of Israeli art. It touches on questions concerning the distinction between original and copy, great artists and masterpieces, localism and universalism, center and periphery. It is also informed by the current political climate in Israel and in other parts of the world.
THE EXHIBITION IS OPEN TILL 5.07
ADDRESS: Kibbutz Ein Harod Meuhad
I’m Alexandra Levin – an art historian, art tours guide and Israeli art lover. I have a Master Degree of Arts in Art History (Tel Aviv University), and for many years conduct art tours in Israeli museums, art galleries, artists’ studios and private collections, give lectures and promote Israeli art to a Russian-speaking audience.
Find my upcoming art tours in the DI Events and on my Instagram https://www.instagram.com/levi_lex/
Stay tuned for the next recommendations of the local exhibitions and arts events!