Meet The Curator - Elad Yaron

A Bit of Background – How I Came to Curating

Like many others, I started with the aspiration to become an artist. As a child, I drew, read, lived art, and later transitioned to conceptual art. It was actually out of criticism toward the field of curating that I found myself gradually drawn to it. During my studies at Bezalel, I realized that there were artists more talented than me, but I also discovered my own talent: collaborating in thought with others. I became a conversation partner to many artists, and from there, the path to curating almost opened up on its own. I was part of the “Empty House” group, which created cultural spaces in abandoned sites, and there, out of necessity, I became a curator in practice. I learned that sometimes the field knows your role better than you do, and that my discomfort with the term “curating” actually pushed me to define what it means to me, right from the start. Since then, I’ve curated dozens of exhibitions, served as Chair of the Curators’ Association, and above all, found my own way to remain in the world of art, to contribute, think, create, even if from a different angle than I imagined as a child.

My Curatorial Philosophy

For me, curating is a way to create an experience that carries meaning. Each artwork and each exhibition asks for something different, but what always guides me is the question: what does this exhibition do to the audience? I want to stir emotion, thought, a drive to act, sometimes even just a small pang in the heart. I believe in site-specific projects, the place itself speaks. Its history, its architecture, even when it’s a “white cube.” I use light as theatre, I look for stories with social or political depth, sometimes even populist ones, because a simple truth can cut deep. But perhaps the most essential thing for me is group work. I believe in collaborative creation, because when people think together, sharper, more precise ideas are born. When space is made for every voice, there’s more knowledge and inspiration in the room. I don’t see myself as someone who knows more than the artists, but as someone who accompanies the journey. Sometimes I’ll let artists go their own way even if I’m unsure, even if years later I think they were wrong, out of respect for their truth. In the end, if it’s done right, collective creation has immense power that serves everyone involved, and also the audience, who receives something more precise, more resonant.nt.

Why I Chose to Be Curator of a Cooperative Gallery

The answer continues my curatorial philosophy: I truly believe that a group of artists is the answer. And yet, I’ll reveal a small secret, which perhaps even some of the artists in the gallery don’t know, at first, I was very hesitant. I wasn’t sure if this group would meet my expectations. There’s a common image of a cooperative gallery, one of bourgeois comfort, of financial investment for the sake of an occasional exhibition, of partners who don’t really want to be involved. A bit like a shared apartment where everyone just closes their own door. But the deeper I looked, the more I saw how far this image is from reality. A cooperative gallery demands a great deal from its artists, resources, time, energy, perseverance, and above all, deep partnership. Hours of group conversations. You need a strong desire to work together, and a real drive to keep going even when the outcome isn’t guaranteed. And what surprised me most, is simply the group itself. Brilliant, dedicated artists with an extraordinary level of talent. Maybe that’s the result of the cooperative selection process, or maybe just good fortune, either way, it’s a great privilege for me to work and think alongside them.

What Interests Me About Binyamin Gallery?

I think the moment I truly understood what’s special about the gallery was during the exhibition “Eroding the Foundation.” It was in the midst of the protests against the judicial overhaul (how quickly that became history…), and we all felt that something big was happening, something calling for an artistic, collective response. At the same time, the gallery was about to undergo renovations. Then came the idea, instead of renovating, to break everything. Simply destroy the space and build an exhibition through it. Destruction became raw material. Each of us went wild in our own way, and together we created a shared whole, wild, sharp, alive. It was precisely in that moment that I understood how unique this group is, a group you can go wild with. Think together, act together, dream and dare. Beyond my individual work with each artist, these collective moments are the real highlights for me, and they also simply bring me joy, especially in difficult times.

My Vision for the Gallery

I want the gallery to become everything it can be, for the artists, and together with them. A space for real, cooperative, living art, art that can touch, influence, and change reality. Since I took on the role, I keep getting excited by the gallery’s trajectory, not because I led it alone. On the contrary, this was a movement that had already begun, and it’s what brought me here. Three years ago, when the gallery received governmental support for the first time (after huge efforts by its members), a condition was set, a permanent curator to work alongside the artists. But what happened since then wasn’t just about increased funding. It was a spirit of collective action that led to a significant renovation, a redesigned space, the creation of a new website (almost ready!), and deep thinking about how we operate. And that’s already visible externally, in the opportunities coming to the gallery, in exhibitions outside our regular space (like in Kabri and Ein Hod), and even more so in how beautiful and inviting the gallery looks today. But most of all, in the sense of forward movement. My vision? Simply to keep that movement going, to strengthen and refine it, and to build, together with the artists, a space that doesn’t just show art, but changes the rules.

And Finally – What’s Next?

We still have goals to reach, and a path to continue walking, and I feel we’re right in the middle of this momentum. After everything we’ve been through, as a country, as a group, as individuals, a new thought arises: it’s time to build. I don’t know if it will be an optimistic exhibition, it’s hard to promise optimism in times like these. But I can promise an exhibition that believes in the power of a group. In human connection as the foundation for building something new together.

Details coming very soon :)