Greetings from the head of the program

 

To our dear graduates,

In a time when it seems we must choose between emotional numbness and constant anxiety, the very act of dedicating time, thought, and emotion to creation and learning is meaningful. Art is a space that is important to keep free—a place where difficult questions can be asked, experiences processed, and other possibilities imagined. Not as an act of escape, but as a critical act that reflects and confronts reality as it is, no matter how challenging.

The social, political, and personal context in which you operate demands persistence, curiosity, and courage to continue creating. These are precious resources for us not only as artists but also as active citizens, especially in a time when fundamental values are losing their meaning. As artists, you have the possibility—and perhaps the responsibility—to keep asking, challenging, and creating a relevant and current language for self and collective understanding.

I wish you to keep creating, and I believe you will not give up on the path to see clearly and bravely—both yourselves and those around you.

Prof. Aya Ben Ron

 

Hold – MFA Graduate Exhibition, University of Haifa, Department of Art  

MFA 2025

The MFA program in Art and the School of Arts, Culture and Interpretation at the University of Haifa invite the public to visit the graduate exhibition, on view at the Dr. Reuben Hecht Arts Center, University of Haifa, from June 5 to June 19, 2025.  

Opening hours: Sunday–Thursday 8:00–20:00, Friday 8:00–12:00.

The exhibition spans several floors of the Arts Center and presents a variety of media: painting, sculpture, photography, video, installation, and performance.  Hold traces the stories of eight exhibiting artists working in the local space, summarizing two years of learning and collaborative artistic processes.  

In Arabic, the word “Hold”  translates to two terms: قبضة (qabda) and تمسّك (tamasuk).  

قبضة (qabda) implies strength and control—a firm, sometimes even violent, grasp, such as “a hand grip” or “grasping the crown of power.”  

In contrast, تمسّك (tamasuk) points to emotional persistence, a refusal to give up, and conveys humanistic and ethical qualities.  

The eight final exhibitions explore the range between these two interpretations.

They were created within a space fiercely clinging to power and control, while the artists themselves hold on emotionally and persistently through the acts of painting, sculpting, and photographing.  For them, grasping is a vital necessity.  

Participating artists:  

Julia Aronson, Shahd Zuabi, Libi Zak, Ariel Cababie, Zohar Cohen, Sasha Nikitina, Meir Sidi, and Daphna Reves.  All participants are completing their MFA studies this year — a program operating within the School of Arts, Culture and Interpretation, drawing on the university’s interdisciplinary academic environment. The program offers a unique experimental platform in Israel for developing art practices focused on artistic research.  

Among the program’s notable graduates: Sharon Glazberg, Shai Id Aloni, Chaimi Fenichel, Noa Raz Melamed, Or Rut, Adi Argov, Dan Alon, Ra’anan Harlap, and Galia Gur Ze’ev.

Love,
Thalia & Lihi

Acknowledgements

Prof. Gur Alroey, President
Prof. Mouna Maroun, Rector
Prof. Zohar Segev, Dean, Faculty of Humanities
Prof. Marcos Silber, Head, School of the Arts
Prof. Aya Ben Ron, Head of the Fine Art Dept
Dr. Thalia Hoffman, Chairman of the M.F.A committee
Lihi Chen, Lecturer & mentor, M.F.A. program
Aharon Rafter, Head of Administration, Faculty of Humanities
Vered Levinson, Production Manager, School of the Arts
Tal Landeshut, School Administrator, School of the Arts
Relly Yurist, Departments Administrator, School of the Arts
Revital Cohen, School Secretariat, School of the Arts
Michal Pshatesky Golan, Community Relations Manager, School of the Arts
Yoav Zilberg, Operations Manager, School of the Arts
Shay Davidi, Media Coordinator, School of the Arts
Tzachi Ben Ezra , Technical Supervisor, School of the Arts
Lior Wexler, Art Workshops Coordinator
Tomer Reuveni, Manager of Buildings Eshkol Tower and The Dr. Hecht Arts Center
Haim Hayat, Building Manager, The Dr. Hecht Arts Center
Elik Buchorshvily, Building Manager, The Dr. Hecht Arts Center  

M.F.A. Committee Members

Prof. Aya Ben Ron
Prof. Assi Meshullam
Prof. Sharon Poliakine
Dr. Thalia Hoffman
Mis. Lihi Chen

Program Lecturers

Prof. Sharon Poliakine
Dr. Thalia Hoffman
Ms. Lihi Chen

Program Mentors (2023-2025):

Prof. Asad Azi, Prof. Aya Ben Ron, Lihi Chen, Gilad Efrat, Prof. Pessi Girsch, Dr. Thalia Hoffman, Marik Lechner, Ella Litviz, Kineret Haya Max, Prof. Assi Meshullam, Prof. Sharon Poliakine, Hillel Roman, Ella Sadovsky, Maya Zack.

Guests (2023-2025)
Etty Abergel, Ella Amitai-Sadovsky, Maya Arad Yasur, Michal Bar Or, Maya Cohen Levy, Chaimi Fenichel, Shiraz Greenbaum, Akram Al-Halabi, Talia Keinan, Marik Lechner, Ella Litwitz, Kinneret Haya Max, Naama Raz Malamud, Barak Ravitz, Shahar Yahalom, Nadav Weissman, Maya Zack

Design: Roei Regev
Website: Eden Orion, Shani Zilberman, Vered Levinson
Arabic translation: Dalleh Tarabey
Installation Photographer: Warhaftig Venezian Studio