Art at Mishkenot Sha'ananim

At one of the seminars at Mishkenot Sha'ananim, author David Grossman remarked that during his stay here for the purpose of writing, he requested that the curtains be drawn and all the openings closed so that the view would not distract him and prevent him from concentrating on his creative work. It is indeed difficult to ignore the beauty of Mishkenot Sha’ananim or to compete with it or with the rich collection of works of art that adorn the walls of the residence. The photographic works of Israeli artists included in the Mishkenot collection are displayed in the interior public spaces and guest rooms of Mishkenot Sha'ananim and emphasize the tension between the old and the new—contemporary art versus the immortal landscape of the city’s walls—which is also the story of Jerusalem.

Artists in Mishkenot

Adi Nes

Born in 1966 in Israel.

Adi Nes is a graduate of the Department of Photography at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design. In 1999, he won the Minister of Education, Culture and Sport Prize, in 2000 the Nathan Gottesdiener Foundation Israeli Art Prize, and in 2003 the Tel Aviv Museum of Art’s Constantiner Award for Photography. In 2005, he was selected as an outstanding artist by the Israel Cultural Excellence Foundation.

The main themes of Nes’s photographs are male identity and Israeli identity. He selects a single image from a series of staged photographs produced in a style reminiscent of film productions and has several layers: The Israeli experience; quotes from art history, Greek mythology, photography, the artist's private world, and sometimes a hidden layer of intimacy between men. So far, he has presented the series Soldiers, Boys, Prisoners, and Biblical Stories.

Adi Nes