TEL AVIV.- Members of the
Tel Aviv Museum of Art Voting for Art Acquisition Group, chaired by Yael Braun and directed by Adv. Dina Papo, TAMAs Head of Public Affairs & Resource Development, acquired in 2020 fifteen works by contemporary Israeli artists for the Museums collection; these are added to the thirteen works acquired by the group throughout 2019. They were purchased for a total cost of NIS 621,000. Since its establishment, Voting for Art group has acquired 93 works of contemporary Israeli art for TAMAs collection.
The works bought in 2019-2020 are by the artists Avner Ben Gal, Eitan Ben Moshe, Maayan Elyakim, Irit Hemmo, Israel Kabala, Micha Kirshner, Moran Kliger, Eli Kopelwitz, Shosh Kormush, Uri Nir, Dov Or-Ner, Assaf Rahat, Guy Raz, Pnina Reichman, Karen Russo, Porat Salomon, Naomi Siman-Tov, Eli Singalovski, Nirit Takele, Hila Toony Navok, Shahar Yahalom, Rona Yefman and Alexandra Zuckerman.
Voting for Art marks its seventh year of activities, aiming to raise funds for acquiring Israeli art for the Museums Department of Israeli Art, Department of Photography and Department of Prints and Drawings. The works are selected by curators Dalit Matatyahu, Raz Samira and Irith Hadar, under the direction of TAMAs Chief Curator Doron Rabina. The Acquisition Groups annual activities include art presentations, guided tours of exhibitions, visits to artist studios, lectures and more. At the end of each year, a vote is held about the works to be purchased by the group for the Museum collections. Since the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, the Groups activities continued on digital platforms. The Groups commitment to the community of local artists was manifested, among others, in its support of the Desktop Project, featuring short first-person films created by dozens of Israeli artists during the pandemic.
Tania Coen-Uzzielli, TAMA Director: In these times, alongside the major aim of enriching TAMAs collection with outstanding art, purchasing work from artists is of further significance. It is one act from an array of activities that express the Museums strong commitment to art and artists in Israel. I am grateful to Yael Braun and to all members of the Voting for Art Acquisition Group who, together with Doron Rabina and the curators, assist TAMA in continuing to lead towards excellence in constructing and featuring the historical and contemporary collection of Israeli art.