Contemporary artists explore family ties, homeland in Jerusalem
The third Jerusalem Biennale, themed "Watershed," brings together disparate streams of Jewish artists to offer their unique perspectives on evolving identities and the concept of a homeland.
The third Jerusalem Biennale kicked off this week, and its theme, “Watershed,” feels fitting for Israel’s contested capital.
Jerusalem divides the spiritual, the political and even the meteorological. The city, which sits at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, also straddles a ridge, meaning even its raindrops must choose a side.
The biennial, which spans 26 exhibitions and projects, is not only a celebration of modern Jewish art, but an exploration of physical divides. It is a deep dive into the watershed of Jewish migrations, in which clans, tribes and families came together and then split into two separate streams of existence.
“‘Watershed’ allows us to explore those points that we are a people and communities split from an identity point of view,” Rami Ozeri, the biennial’s founder, told Al-Monitor. “When you say ‘a watershed moment,’ you are talking about something that changed the course of history. That meaning is also coming into expression across the different exhibitions this year.”
