This discussion will center on Patir’s recent body of work, notably her video installation (M)otherland, commissioned for the Israel Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale, which did not open following her decision to remain closed until peace was achieved and hostages were released. The work was subsequently acquired by The Jewish Museum, New York. Like Patir’s work, this conversation will move beyond a narrow national lens to a universal theme resonant with today’s times, exploring how contemporary art responds to moments of rupture, war, and consequent political complexity, and what it means to create, exhibit, and speak as an Israeli artist in the aftermath of October 7.
Patir and Snyder will reflect on the dynamic tension between personal narrative and collective experience and the boundaries – and resonances – between artistic agency and social and political agendas. And their conversation will explore the personal, societal, and political dimensions of topics such as gender and fertility in Israel, how culture can reflect and transcend political responses to such issues, and how responses from the Diaspora can differ from those within the region.
The event will include a screening of videos from (M)otherland.
About the Speakers
Ruth Patir is an Israeli new-media artist and filmmaker whose work merges documentary practices with computer-generated imagery to examine biopolitics, gender, technology, and power. Her work has been exhibited internationally, including at the 2024 Venice Biennale, and she is a Professor in the Screen Arts Department at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design.
James Snyder is Director of the Jewish Museum in New York, Director Emeritus of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, and a Senior Fellow at the Middle East Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School. One of the leading and longest-serving professionals in the international museum world, he has shaped major cultural institutions at the intersection of art, history, and public life.
