Beit Uri Zvi Greenberg

“Come hone the blades of poetry/ Come reveal every nuance/ Link them to the pulse of vision/ And strike them with the spark of expression!” (Uri Zvi Greenberg) Uri Zvi House - The Vibrant Culture of Jerusalem “Come hone the blades of poetry/ Come reveal every nuance/ Link them to the pulse of vision/ And strike them with the spark of expression!” (Uri Zvi Greenberg) Uri Zvi House is home to a new Israeli art scene that promotes innovative artistic efforts in the spirit of Uri Zvi Greenberg (UZG), one of the Jewish People’s most important 20th century poets. At Uri Zvi House, we focus on Israeli art and culture that is rooted and inspired by Judaism, nationalism and Zionism. The national voice in literature, the spiritual dimension of art, alongside a variety of other cultural mediums and modes of creativity, all have a place in our house, from poetry and fiction, through painting and photography to theater, cinema and dance. Developing Excellence and Promoting Local Artists Uri Zvi House is a home and a community offering on-site physical and logistic infrastructure that inspires professional and cultural creativity. The organization operates a variety of creative programs and acceleration frameworks for artists: A. Yehee - Political Art and Poetry Journal Yehee is an innovative magazine for poetry, literature and political art, which aims to promote art in the spirit of Uri Zvi Greenberg by creating a free and open platform for the expression of national pride through culture. The magazine's state-of-the-art graphic design is also inspired by UZG who admired the modern expressionist style and paid close attention to visual illustrations in his books. In addition to the printed edition, Yehee maintains a website as well as Facebook and Instagram pages, where poetic-political works are published on a weekly basis. Unprecedented in Israel till today, the journal aims to serve as a critical platform for the publication of art related to politics and current events, modelling on the activist spirit of UZG and the journal founders’ core values. While Yehee does not identify with any particular political party or group (on the contrary, it calls for the publication of political poetry from all social perspectives), the journal seeks to provide a platform for voicing new Israeli-Jewish commentary that lacks adequate expression in Israel’s current mainstream culture and art scene. B. Yehee Artists Program The Yehee Artists Program aspires to create a meeting and activity space for artists whose work focuses on the Israeli scene – specifically, from a point of view of acceptance rather than rejection. Works that reflect a living and committed bond with Israeli heritage from its on-the-ground formative grassroots to its lofty philosophical vision. As part of the Yehee community and Uri Zvi House, the program supports the formation of a dynamic community of leading Israeli artists - a productive ecosystem nurturing new Israeli creativity, in the spirit of Uri Zvi Greenberg, in the heart of Jerusalem. C. The Incubator The Incubator is an innovative space for artistic growth, a laboratory for creating connections between contemporary art, the spiritual world and Jewish tradition. A home for men and women who strive to develop and perfect a genre of visual art that gives expression to their religious and cultural identity. The Incubator is a meeting point for everyone who shares in this journey: art students and artists alike, Torah students as well as cultural entrepreneurs, who seek inspiration and yearn to develop a dialogue on the connection between the contemporary and the traditional, on the universal from the vantage point of the local. A full three-year study program that can be tailored to individual needs. D. Uri Zvi Publishing House An in-house publishing house, a community of writers and a literary stage - Uri Zvi Publishing House provides an ongoing lifeline of support to artists who profess a unique, intense voice that enriches contemporary Hebrew poetry. In the spirit of Uri Zvi Greenberg, the publishing house offers a stage for a new kind of Israeli literary work - a genre that observes being Israeli from a point of identification, stemming from attraction and interest, from connection to the heritage of the Hebrew language through the interface between content, aesthetics, style and linguistic form. E. Geula Gallery Geula Gallery, named after former MK Geula Cohen, is an art gallery that hosts exhibitions by contemporary Israeli artists whose work demonstrates a critical view of Israel’s mainstream political culture. Like UZG, Geula Cohen, was an activist. She was an underground fighter, member of the Knesset and founder of Uri Zvi House. The gallery brings to light the national, Zionist voice - a voice that believes in the land and its people, a voice that seeks to make constructive observations, a voice that represents the diverse yet rooted face of Israeli society that is vividly connected to the land, the people and its heritage. F. The Russian Department The Russian Speakers' Department at Uri Zvi House, founded in 2000, has become a cultural hub centered around the Jerusalem Journal. This publication, established in 1999, features contemporary Israeli literature in Russian and serves as a vital resource for the Russian-speaking community in Israel. The department organizes literary events, art exhibitions, and translation workshops, acting as a social incubator for immigrants. It helps newcomers integrate into Israeli society by promoting creative expression and cultural understanding. The journal, which has an online presence, continues to evolve, with a new iteration founded after the passing of its original editor in 2022, aiming to support those affected by war in their countries of origin. G. The Yehee Festival The Yehee Festival is a platform for a variety of cultural activity that addresses the essence of what it means to be Israeli today, from a point of positive identification as opposed to rejection. An identification with Israeli society that is deeply rooted in the Hebrew language. It is contemporary Judaism highly based on traditional sources. This is the identity we wish to personify in our creative activity. H. The Ratzo Film Festival The Ratzo Film Festival is a stage for intercultural encounters and a podium for exploring the existential, in search for the divine and sublime. The festival seeks to create a constructive model for building bridges around dialogue that focuses on search as a unifying and common universal factor. The festival highlights an exciting new art scene that begs for the establishment of a high-quality cinematic stage through which to make its voice heard. It is a space wherein artists engaged in an in-depth search for the sublime, from different vantage points, can meet, interact and talk. During the festival, prizes are awarded for selected films alongside master classes and workshops conducted by facilitators from different content worlds, all open to the general public. A Dynamic Center for Innovative Israeli Art and Culture Uri Zvi House offers two types of physical creativity spaces in where in-house artists can work - a "quiet" creative space and a "loud" creative space. The two creativity spaces are open for work during the day. In the evening, they become stages for a variety of different performances. The White Gallery The White Gallery - the “Quiet” Creative Space - is a quiet and carefully designed area that functions as a modular addition to the Geula Gallery. It also contains the Uri Zvi House library. In this space, small-scale evening events are held such as intimate reading groups, writing workshops, master classes, seminars, as well as literary and gallery talks. The Black Studio The Studio is a creative performance space with a stage, equipped with an advanced sound and lighting system, as well as projection, photography and broadcasting systems. In daytime, this space is used as a studio for rehearsals, recordings plus other noisy activities. It is also an eating area. In the evenings, the space turns into a performance hall with an active bar and a student gallery where large-scale literary events such as book launches, stage shows, spoken word evenings, plays, musical performances, conferences, rehearsals, master classes and student exhibitions are held.