Visitors to the Bar-David Museum of Art and Judaica are invited to experience the green of the Galilee as well as the multiple facets of the art museum bearing the name of the legendary art collector couple from Haifa – Moshe Bar-David and his wife Tova. The Bar-David Museum of Art and Judaica is located in a verdant, hilly landscape of intoxicating beauty, accessed through a winding road through mountains covered with Mediterranean oak and pine forests.
The Museum is unique in the Galilee, with its permanent exhibitions and temporary exhibits by first-rate contemporary artists active today who reflect the spirit of the times. An added attraction is the art center for children and youth, with annual themed exhibitions and activities conducted in Hebrew and in Arabic, integrating hands-on experimental art activities. Guides escort various groups on tours adapted to suit each age group, from kindergartens through grade school to adults and to all population sectors in Israel. Exhibitions welcome families and individual visitors for guided or independent visits and activities.
The Bar-David Museum’s collection is the source of different exhibitions shown from time to time, as it covers the entire range of Israeli art from the Bezalel School era through to the present day. The collection also includes a rare group of works of international art, especially by Expressionists, a stream which comprised numerous Jewish artists active in Germany and France prior to World War II.
Outside of the Museum building is its Sculpture Garden, with several important sculptures by Igael Tumarkin, among them Divine Comedy, inspired by Dante’s masterpiece, and Angel of History – a tribute to Walter Benjamin, whose article of the same name was inspired by Paul Klee’s painting Angelus Novus [the new angel] An intimate archaeological display on the upper floor is the third group rounding out the Museum’s permanent collection.
The Bar-David Museum’s goal is to nurture the artists of Israel’s north; to this end, an exhibition hall is devoted to providing an opportunity for solo exhibitions for artists from the region. Visitors are exposed to a wide range of exhibitions, from established contemporary artists to emerging artists. The exhibitions allow a peek into the spirit of the Museum and its objective of interrogating the borderlines of art. Its location not far from the country’s border adds a philosophical dimension to this inquiry.
Avi Ifergan
Director and Chief Curator,
Bar-David Museum of Art and Judaica
