Artis organization navigates political complexities while supporting Israeli contemporary art and Palestinian artists

Artis, a nonprofit focused on spreading contemporary Israeli art globally, recently organized a trip to Israel that brought political tensions to the forefront. While Artis is independent of the government, it struggles to engage with Arab and Palestinian artists who view partnerships with Israeli institutions as a form of political endorsement. The nonprofit supports artists like Jumana Emil Abboud, Shadi Habib Allah, Emily Jacir, and Sharif Waked, and collaborates with projects like the Digital Arts Lab in Holon and Programma magazine. At the Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, the exhibition Men in the Sun, curated by Tal Ben Zvi and Hanna Farah-Kufer Bir'im, featured 13 Palestinian artists, inspired by Ghassan Kanafani's 1962 story about refugees. The works included Abed Abdi's 1960s sketches and Fahed Halabi's 2009 video, To You with Love. Artis promotes peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians while recognizing the political context of art in the area.