Arts and Culture in Tel Aviv

In addition to the rich array of cultural and artistic events regularly on offer at Tel Aviv University, the city of Tel Aviv-Jaffa has much to offer visitors.

Art & Film

Tel Aviv is home to hundreds of art galleries and private boutiques, showcasing a unique array of paintings, sculptures, crafts and other works by Israeli artists. The city's art scene encompasses everything from tiny, one-room galleries hidden in narrow, backstreet alleys to large outdoor festivals such as Nachlat Binyamin's Friday Market, to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, one of the largest museums in Israel.

Tel Aviv University is the only university in Israel with a Department of Film and Television, and as such has shaped the development of the film and television industry in Israel. The majority of Israel's successful directors, screenwriters and film critics all began their careers at TAU. In fact, to celebrate young creators and give them a platform to showcase their art, TAU film students organize the International Student Film Festival – the largest student film festival in the world – every two years. With its large cadre of young and motivated filmmakers and as the set location for major Israeli film productions, Tel Aviv has found itself at the center of Israel's film culture and industry and hosts multiple international film festivals a year.

Performing Arts

Tel Aviv is home to Israel's oldest School for Performing Arts as well as the National Theater of Israel. However the city is also full of smaller theater companies that have earned local and international acclaim, such as Gesher, The Cameri, and even smaller, experimental groups such as the Tel Aviv Improv Company. Jaffa is the location of the award-winning Nalaga'at Theater, home to the Deaf-blind Acting Ensemble. In 2011 Tel Aviv University awarded Nalaga'at's founder and artistic director, Adinal Tal, an honorary doctorate.

Tel Aviv is also the home the Suzanne Dellal Center, the oldest and largest institution in Israel to put on dance performances, promote local dance culture and showcase artists from across the world on its stages. The Center gets over half a million visitors a year and is one of Tel Aviv's most popular tourist attractions.

Tel Aviv University is also the only university in Israel with a School of Music, training musicians as well as vocal performers. The school holds over 200 concerts a year on the TAU campus and is invited to tour around the world, performing in Zurich, Madrid and Berlin, among other places. Perhaps not surprisingly, given the city's musical prominence, the Israeli National Opera is also located in Tel Aviv.