Be’eri Gallery was first opened in October 1986, on the 40th anniversary of Kibbutz Be’eri. The Declaration of Intentions, upon its foundation, was: “To add to the consumption of bread the consumption of the spirit, to create the act of art, for man shall not live by bread alone.” The goal was to bring contemporary Israeli art at its best to our periphery and expose the public to the culture and art that takes place in Israel.
Until 2024, more than 400 exhibitions were shown at the gallery. We work with the finest artists in Israel, well-known alongside emerging artists in early stages of their careers. We exhibit diverse mediums of contemporary art, painting, sculpture, photography, video art, print, installation and performance. The gallery aims and encourages artists to create site-specific work for the gallery and to engage with the community. We hold regular gallery talks with the exhibiting artists, lessons for kindergarten children, groups and interested parties alongside lectures and cultural events.
In 2021 we launched Be’eri Gallery Art Prize at Fresh Paint Art Fair. The winner of the first edition was Yael Serlin. The second recipient was Yael Hovav.
On October 7 and part of the horrifying massacre by Hamas terrorists in kibbutz B’eri and the western Negev the gallery was torched and burnt to the ground. In a collective effort of the artworld, our colleagues and generous donations and private funds, the gallery is to be reopened in Tel Aviv for the years it will take to rebuild the kibbutz.
In December 2023 a joint statement was made by Israeli prime minister Issac Herzog and German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier, that Germany will fund and assist in rebuilding the gallery.
