{"id":460,"date":"2023-04-23T14:45:31","date_gmt":"2023-04-23T14:45:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mfa.haifa.ac.il\/?page_id=460"},"modified":"2025-06-11T12:58:37","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T12:58:37","slug":"greetings","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mfa.haifa.ac.il\/?page_id=460&lang=en","title":{"rendered":"Greetings"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Greetings from the head of the program<\/strong><\/h2>

\u00a0<\/p>

To our dear graduates,<\/p>

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\u2014a 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.<\/p>

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\u2014and perhaps the responsibility\u2014to keep asking, challenging, and creating a relevant and current language for self and collective understanding.<\/p>

I wish you to keep creating, and I believe you will not give up on the path to see clearly and bravely\u2014both yourselves and those around you.<\/p>

Prof. Aya Ben Ron<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Hold<\/strong> \u2013 MFA Graduate Exhibition, University of Haifa, Department of Art\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>

MFA 2025<\/strong><\/h3>

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.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Opening hours: Sunday\u2013Thursday 8:00\u201320:00, Friday 8:00\u201312:00.<\/span><\/p>

The exhibition spans several floors of the Arts Center and presents a variety of media: painting, sculpture, photography, video, installation, and performance.\u00a0 Hold traces the stories of eight exhibiting artists working in the local space, summarizing two years of learning and collaborative artistic processes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

In Arabic, the word "Hold\u201d\u00a0 translates to two terms: \u0642\u0628\u0636\u0629 (qabda) and \u062a\u0645\u0633\u0651\u0643 (tamasuk).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u0642\u0628\u0636\u0629 (qabda) implies strength and control\u2014a firm, sometimes even violent, grasp, such as "a hand grip" or "grasping the crown of power."\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

In contrast, \u062a\u0645\u0633\u0651\u0643 (tamasuk) points to emotional persistence, a refusal to give up, and conveys humanistic and ethical qualities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The eight final exhibitions explore the range between these two interpretations.<\/span><\/p>

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.\u00a0 For them, grasping is a vital necessity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Participating artists:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Julia Aronson, Shahd Zuabi, Libi Zak, Ariel Cababie, Zohar Cohen, Sasha Nikitina, Meir Sidi, and Daphna Reves.\u00a0 All participants are completing their MFA studies this year \u2014 a program operating within the School of Arts, Culture and Interpretation, drawing on the university\u2019s interdisciplinary academic environment. The program offers a unique experimental platform in Israel for developing art practices focused on artistic research.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Among the program\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>

Love,
Thalia & Lihi<\/p>

Acknowledgements<\/strong><\/h1>

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 \u00a0<\/p>

M.F.A. Committee Members<\/strong><\/p>

Prof. Aya Ben Ron
Prof. Assi Meshullam
Prof. Sharon Poliakine
Dr. Thalia Hoffman
Mis. Lihi Chen<\/p>

Program Lecturers<\/strong><\/p>

Prof. Sharon Poliakine
Dr. Thalia Hoffman
Ms. Lihi Chen<\/p>

Program Mentors (2023-2025):<\/strong><\/p>

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.<\/p>

Guests (2023-2025)
<\/strong>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<\/p>

Design: Roei Regev
Website: Eden Orion,\u00a0Shani Zilberman, Vered Levinson
Arabic translation:\u00a0Dalleh Tarabey
Installation Photographer: Warhaftig Venezian Studio<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Greetings from the head of the program \u00a0 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\u2014a place where difficult […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-460","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mfa.haifa.ac.il\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mfa.haifa.ac.il\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mfa.haifa.ac.il\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfa.haifa.ac.il\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfa.haifa.ac.il\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=460"}],"version-history":[{"count":38,"href":"https:\/\/mfa.haifa.ac.il\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3159,"href":"https:\/\/mfa.haifa.ac.il\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/460\/revisions\/3159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mfa.haifa.ac.il\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}