Stories of Israel: A Photographed Journey to the Country's Soul
Anyone trying to comprehend the mosaic that is Israeli society will find its elements to be surprisingly diverse. This exhibition provides an opportunity to explore some of those different elements, as captured through the lens of Israel's leading news and documentary photographers. The nature of their profession makes these women and men highly attuned to the pulse and essence of Israel.
These images would not necessarily catch your eye upon a casual visit to the country. Most might be considered atypical. This project is an attempt to present the photographers' unique ways of building a story, by choosing an extreme - sometimes bizarre - angle in order to shed light on the larger picture, by using the sidelines to sketch out the idea of the midline. This is the kind of storytelling that the exhibition seeks to highlight. Opposites, conflicts, contradictions all converge in one complex, blunt and intriguing entity: Israel.
The images in "Stories of Israel" were all part of the "Local Testimony" photojournalism exhibitions in recent years. Since launched in 2003, the annual exhibition has evolved into a leading event on Israel's cultural calendar. Every year, the editorial team and jury screen nearly 10,000 images submitted to the competition by the region's top news and magazine photographers. The 300 winning images are compiled into a photographic retrospective of the preceding 12 months, documenting realms ranging from hardcore news to sports and the arts.
Everyone is invited to the "Stories of Israel: A Photographed Journey to the Country's Soul" exhibition. The exhibit will run from September 22 to October 7 in the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture Exhibition Hall on Main Campus, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.