The Department of Fine Arts is a space for creativity, learning, experimentation and breaking the boundaries of the familiar, the known and the formulated. It is a place for expression, a stage for artistic impulses, for wondering, for trying out new and unconventional ideas. It is a rich and sophisticated space for innovation, for working with advanced technologies and for developing practical and creative skills using ancient traditions, while being in constant dialogue with different disciplines.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, Bezalel’s Department of Fine Arts has been shaping the creative culture and visual and artistic thinking in Israel and producing generations of artists of local and international renown. Joining the department every year are emerging artists with the creativity, curiosity, original thinking and passion to learn, create, change and lead the art of tomorrow.

The department’s teaching tradition exposes students to ideas, techniques, the development of working methods and specializations in diverse fields of activity, and equips them with the practical tools for creating and for conceptual and critical maturation.

The team of lecturers comprises the leading artists in Israel. In addition, the department continuously hosts major artists and figures from the local and global art world, with the aim of exposing students to a wide range of creators and ways of working and thinking.

The curriculum combines intensive learning, investigation and practice in a variety of creative fields, alongside exploration and exposure to diverse ideas and approaches of the histories of artists and of art in Israel and around the world. This is a demanding and challenging course of study from start to finish, during which students are presented with extensive platforms for understanding and refining their personal identity.

An important part of the Department of Fine Arts curriculum is the opportunity to experiment. This is put into practice with annual student solo exhibitions starting from the second year of studies. Critical review of the exhibitions by a team of lecturers forms the core of the departmental discourse.