Prof. Haim Maor, BGU Galleries Curator, has won the Ministry of Culture and Sports' 2018 Arik Einstein Award for Veteran Artists in the visual arts category. The NIS 50 thousand prize is awarded to veteran artists in a range of fields who have left their mark on Israeli culture through active contributions.
The visual arts selection committee: Tamar Raban, Said Abu Shakra and Raphael Barbibay, wrote in their rationale for the selection, that Maor is: "an active artist, scholar of Israeli art, lecturer and independent curator. Maor chose to make the country's periphery the central arena for his activity for over 30 years. His contribution to Israeli art and society is tremendous."
"Prof. Haim Maor is a first rate cultural asset," said BGU President, Prof. Rivka Carmi, in congratulating Maor. "His ongoing long-time artistic activities have enriched Ben-Gurion University, the Negev and the entire State of Israel, leaving an indelible mark on the world of Israeli culture. We are honored by his very deserving selection."
Maor, is Full Professor in the Department of the Arts at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. In his art, Maor examines memory and identity in light of his family's traumatic experiences in the Holocaust and in Israel. A large body of his work investigates his own identity in range of medias and contexts, through complex installations that are in dialogue with 'others.'
Maor is also the President's consultant on issues pertaining to art, the director and curator of the university's galleries, and coordinator of the creative art division. He teaches Israeli and contemporary art, and leads the university's curatorship course.
As a curator, both at BGU galleries and independently, Maor has shaped exhibitions that brought into the spotlight artists from a range of sectors, especially those from the geographical and cultural periphery. As a researcher, he has studied issues that are unaddressed in the mainstream Israeli art scene.
The Arik Einstein Award for Veteran Artists is given to 21 esteemed individuals who have made significant contributions to Israeli culture in seven fields: dance, theater, literature and poetry, music, Israeli songwriting, visual arts, and film.
