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Staring Back at the Sun: Video Art from Israel, 1970-2012 traces the development of contemporary video practice in Israel and highlights work by artists who take an incisive, critical perspective towards the cultural and political landscape of this country and beyond.

Produced and circulated by Artis as an internationally touring exhibition and program (2016-2018), the project showcases the work of 38 artists, including early performances, films and videos never before presented outside of Israel.

Divided into four historic and thematic sections, Staring Back at the Sun focuses on the activist impulse in video art-making in Israel over the last four decades. Informed by the international history of video art, the exhibition traces the local development of the medium and explores how artists here have employed technology and material to examine the socio-political status quo, through themes such as the prominence of political conflict in mass media; the liberalization of the economy; and the impact of free market politics on Israeli culture.

Artists: Boaz Arad, Yossi Atia & Itamar Rose, Yael Bartana, Irit Batsry, Guy Ben Ner, Hila Lulu Lin Farah Kufr Birim, Michael Druks, Benni Efrat, Avraham Eilat, Nir Evron, Yair Garbuz, Gideon Gechtman, Moshe Gershuni, Tamar Getter, Dor Guez, Sigalit Landau, Raffi Lavie, Motti Mizrachi, Avi Mograbi, Michal Naaman, Joshua Neustein, Miri Nishri, Dov Or-Ner, Nira Pereg, Gilad Ratman, Roee Rosen, Buky Schwartz, Ruti Sela & Maayan Amir, Henry Shelesnyak, Ran Slavin, Doron Solomons, Micha Ullman, Rona Yefman, Dan Zakhem, Nana & Boaz Zonshine

Staring Back at the Sun: Video Art from Israel, 1970–2012 from Artis on Vimeo.

Staring Back at the Sun: Video Art from Israel, 1970-2012 is made possible with lead support from The Andy Warhol Foundation. Additional support is provided by The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, The Russell Berrie Foundation, Donald Sussman, and Rivka Saker and Uzi Zucker.

Artis is an independent non-profit organization that supports contemporary artists from Israel whose work addresses aesthetic, social and political questions that inspire reflection and debate.

For more information, visit Staring Back at the Sun.

Staring Back at the Sun: Video Art from Israel, 1970-2012

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Staring Back at the Sun: Curator Talk