The Jerusalem Biennale

The Jerusalem Biennale was founded by Rami Ozeri, recently named one of ten Jerusalem Icons by the Jerusalem Post. The Biennale was conceived to be a stage that allows professional curators and artists to explore the places in which contemporary art and the Jewish world of content intersect. Since its inauguration in 2013, the Biennale grew rapidly and became the largest platform in the world for contemporary Jewish art. Alongside, it has developed and broadened its reach to contemporary artists of all faiths that refer in their work to tradition, spirit, religion or spiritual experience and are thrilled to exhibit their work in Jerusalem. Since 2013, every two years the Biennale initiates and produces a contemporary art event spread out at dozens venues around the city and hosting the work of hundreds of artists from Israel and abroad. The last Biennales reached an audience of over 50,000 and hosted in each edition 50-60 gallery events through seven weeks of creative making celebration. Between the Biennale editions, the Jerusalem Biennale as an organization is operating a gallery in the center of Jerusalem (“The Biennale Gallery”) and produces exhibitions around the world. The Jerusalem Biennale team is preparing these days towards the sixth edition of The Jerusalem Biennale, which will take place in November-December 2023 under the title of Iron Flock. This title, a literal translation of the Hebrew term Tzon Barzel (צאן ברזל), occupies a tension between ancient and contemporary: in modern Hebrew, the term “iron flock” has become an idiom expressing an unalienable cultural legacy. Ideas, texts, movements and even people are referred to as “iron flock assets” (נכסי צאן ברזל) when one desires to emphasis their importance and their central and crucial influence on current culture. The source of this phrase is found in a completely different context: in the Mishna, a 2,000 years old codex of Jewish rules and law, the term Iron Flock is being used mainly in the context of marriage. According to the Mishna, a woman can bring with her to marriage assets that will be defined as iron flock. This definition will ensure that those assets will stay hers and will keep their value in all circumstanses. Those two very different meanings of the term “iron flock”, and the tension between them, were instrumental in encouraging new creative making and finding new narratives within the lens of contemporary art. More than 70 curators we reached out to have submitted a proposal for an exhibition relating to the title Iron Flock, out of which we chose 30 to take part in the 2023 Jerusalem Biennale.