Roni Ben Ari (Hebrew: רוני בן ארי; born Halpern; 1947) is an Israeli photographer, curator and multi-disciplinary artist.

Roni Ben Ari
Born1947 (age 76–77)
Ramat Gan, Israel
NationalityIsraeli
Alma materBeit Berl Academic College
OccupationPhotographer

Early life and education

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Roni Ben Ari was born 1947 in Ramat Gan to Miriam and Abraham Halpern, a textile industrialist (Halpern Textile Industries). She lives in Moshav Netaim, with her husband, Daniel Ben Ari. They have three daughters. Ben Ari is a graduate of the Beit Berl Academic College, the School of Journalism in Tel Aviv, and the College for Geographic Photography.

Early career

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She worked as a news director and reporter at the Israel Broadcasting Authority, Educational Television, and Channel Two. In recent years she has been working as an independent photographer. Her work has been exhibited in solo and in group exhibitions in Israel and around the world and it can be found in museums as well as in private collections. Among the subjects Ben Ari has investigated is the Israeli heroine.[1] Mira Ben Ari—an exemplary figure who became the symbol of the Women's Corp of the Israel Defense Forces and for women in general—who was killed in the battle of Kibbutz Nitzanim during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The educational and heritage center at the Memorial to the Female Soldier, (located in old Nitzanim), was established in tribute to her spirit and legacy.  Ben Ari is a founder and partner in the Bateva School educational program, a growing mainstreaming program that prepares children and youth with complicated learning disabilities for independent integration into society. She is also a shareholder in the Elyakim Ben Ari Company, a civil engineering company that executes national projects in Israel.

Artistic career

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Ben Ari uses her photography to document social issues such as aging, homelessness, prostitution, minorities, and ecology. She mainly photographs people, but also their surrounding environment. Before she photographs them, Ben Ari first becomes close to her subjects by living with them. For example, the photographs for her project, Journey in Search of "Țigancă", were taken only after she had been living among the Romani for about a year. She began the project after the death of her mother who was born in Cluj-Napoka, Romania, a city that has historically had a large gypsy minority.[2][3]  In the project Till Their Voices Stop, Ben Ari lived in a nursing home. There, she photographed the fragile, elderly residents and recorded their voices, which she developed into in a video installation that was exhibited in the gallery of the College for Geographic Photography.[4]

Photography is often associated with the term "to take" as in "to take a picture." Roni's photography does not take. In Roni's photography, the act of giving is so present that she hears the voices, is aware of the needs, touches the textures and thus brings the viewer closer. We all benefit from this closeness. This closeness is not perceived as an invasion of someone else's territory, but rather as the act of acceptance, of giving.

Awards

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  • Black & White magazine, single Image Contest 2018[5][6]
  • Magnum Photography Awards 2017 – top 7% of all entries, impressive accomplishment  
     
    Ben Ari receiving from the King of the Roma, Cioaba Dorin, an honorary title "ambassador in Israel for the Romani Community"
    2017– Hariban Award 2017, Kyoto, Japan[7]
  • The 5th Edition of the Jacob Riis for documentary Award, 2017[8]
  • UNESCO Prize for Art and Society, honorable mention, 2017
  • Worldwide Photograph Gala Awards, first prize, Portrait Photography Category, 2013
  • China Digital Photography Museum of Lishui, prize for Processed Photograph, 2011
  • Julia Margaret Cameron Prize, Portrait Photography Category, 2011
  • UNESCO Humanity Photo Award, 2008
  • Ziv Prize for Television Journalism, 1988
  • Ben Ari is the honorary ambassador in Israel for the Romani Community, a title she received personally from the King of the Roma, Dorin Cioabă, following an exhibition of her photographs depicting gypsy daily life[9]

Books

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  • Father -Loom- Requiem (2012) ISBN 978-965-92637-4-5[10][11]
  • From the inner margins (2013) ISBN 978-965-92637-5-2[12][13]
  • Ladies in waiting (2017) ISBN 978-965-92637-0-7[14]
  • Ethiopia here (2017) ISBN 978-965-92637-1-4[15]
  • Faces (2017) ISBN 978-965-92637-2-1[16]
  • Ocean of garbage (2017) ISBN 978-965-92637-3-8[17]

Exhibitions

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1998

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Lag Be-Omer Ceremony, Mount Meiron, Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv

2001

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City Project, Kibbutz Gallery, Tel Aviv

2002

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Love Conquers, Kibbutz Gallery, Tel Aviv

2006

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Solo exhibition, Until Their Voices Stopped, Gallery of the College for Geographic Photography, Tel Aviv

2008

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Permanent solo exhibition, Ethiopia Here, The Story of the Ethiopian Community, photos embedded on 12 concrete pillars, Park of the Communities, Petah Tikva

Light, FusionArts Museum, New York, NY

Border between Two Cities, Museum of Jaffa

2009

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Artists Create and book launch for Israeli Artists Book, Sand Horses Gallery, Paris

Culture of the Kiosk/Gift of Memory, 53rd Biennale (Marx 7), Scalamata Gallery, Venice, Italy

Memoir L'avenir, Head Museum, Paris, France

Inside Israel, traveling exhibition in China commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the State of Israel, Museum of the Three Kings, Chunching, China

City of Refuge, Tel Aviv Biennale of Art, Hangar 2, Jaffa Port, Tel Aviv

2010

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Photography about Painting, Galerie Mémoire de L’avenir, Paris, France

Two-person exhibition, Ma'agalot , Office in Tel Aviv (Alternative space for interdisciplinary art), Tel Aviv[18]

Echo Phobia Art, Drap-Art Festival, Nakba Museum/CCCB Barcelona, Spain[19]

Wabi Sabi, "Love Art Make Art", Studio and Gallery, Tel Aviv[20]

Mapping, 54th Biennale, Gallery Living Art Gallery, Venice, Italy

Black, Fusion Arts Museum, New York, NY

2012

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Solo exhibition, Loom-Father-Requiem, Galerie Vernon, Prague, Czech Republic[21]

Dance Signs, Tina B. Fest, Prague, Czech Republic

Solo exhibition, Sea of Garbage, video work, screened on Mani House, Tel Aviv[22]

I Was There, Water Tower Art Fest, Sofia, Bulgaria[23]

Transformation, Hallway Gallery, Documenta 2012, Kassel, Germany

2013

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Solo exhibition, Montzi, Gypsies in Cluj-Napoca, Art Museum of Cluj-Napoca, Romania[24]

"At your place", Roof Gallery, Duisburg, Germany

Rainbow in a Sea of Garbage, Gask Museum of Contemporary Art, Kutná Hora, Czech Republic[25]

My Eye/I, 92nd Street Y, New York, NY

2014

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Solo exhibition, Home Is Where the Hurt Is, Galerie Mémoire de L’avenir, Paris, France[26][27]

in between the lines, Art Gallery, Botanischer Garten, München-Nymphenburg, Germany[28]

Woven Consciousness, Contemporary Textile in Israel, Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv[29][30]

2015

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Adama, Second Biennale for Sculpture and Photography, Moshe Kastel Museum, Jerusalem

Solo exhibition, Journey in Search of "Țigancă, Museum of Israeli Art, Ramat Gan[31]

Adama, Gallery of the Ahmedabad and Baroda University and National Gallery of Mumbai, India[32]

I Live in the East and My Heart Is in the West, Fifty Years of Israel-German Relations, Pasinger Fabrik, Munich, Germany[33]

2016

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Solo exhibition, Drawing in Stone, Artists House, Munich, Germany[34]

Solo exhibition, Central Museum of Textiles, The 15th International Triennial of Tapestry, Lodz, Poland[35][36][37]

Solo exhibition, Micro Macro, Pardes Festival, Kazmierz Dolny, Poland[38]

Tower of Babel, Schema Projects, Brooklyn, NY[39]

2017

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Signing event Foley Gallery, NY[40]

Solo exhibition, Gallery Ryugaheon, Seoul, Korea[41][42]

UNESCO –Art & Society, Solo exhibition at the World Humanities Conference. Bruges, Belgium[43]

Bosom Bodies, SIA Gallery, NYC[44]

16th DongGang International Photo Festival, Korea[45][46]

2018

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Solo exhibition, The International Photography Festival of Photo Is:Rael[47]

PhotoBook Show, Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece[48]

Memory of the Future gallery, "can I call you madam?", Paris, France[49]

Cuckoo's Nest gallery, "Beyond the mind", Jaffa, Israel

References

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  1. ^ "Tell Danny he had a mother". Haaretz. 19 October 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  2. ^ ronibenari1 (5 November 2013), ערוץ 10 ריאיון 31 10 13, retrieved 14 February 2019{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "44 Degrees 2015 No subject". Issuu. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  4. ^ ronibenari1 (27 February 2011), רוני בן ארי, עד כלות קולם,Roni Ben Ari, Till their voices stop, retrieved 14 February 2019{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "Drawing Stone by Roni Ben Ari | Black & White Magazine | For Collectors of Fine Photography". Black & White. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  6. ^ "Contest Winner". Black and White Magazine (2018): 109.
  7. ^ Collotype, Benrido (9 August 2017). "Hariban Award 2017 – Shortlist". Benrido, Contemporary Collotype, Hariban Award, Collotype Photo Competition (in Japanese). Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  8. ^ "The 5th Jacob Riis Editorial Award". The Photography Gala Awards. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  9. ^ Eichner, Itamar (5 July 2015). "King of the Roma visits Israel". Ynetnews. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  10. ^ Ben Ari, Roni (2012). Loom, Father, Requiem (in Hebrew and English). Roni Ben Ari.
  11. ^ "הספרייה הלאומית – נול, אבא, רקוויאם / רוני בן ארי ; צילום: רוני בן ארי ; [מאמרים]: רוני בן ארי, ד"ר יצחק נוי". beta.nli.org.il (in Hebrew). Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  12. ^ Ben Ari, Roni (2013). From the Inner Margins (in Hebrew and English). ISBN 978-965-92637-5-2.
  13. ^ "From the inner margins / Roni ben Ari". merhav.nli.org.il. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  14. ^ "Ladies in waiting / Roni Ben Ari". merhav.nli.org.il. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  15. ^ "ethiopia". merhav.nli.org.il. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  16. ^ "Faces / Roni Ben Ari". merhav.nli.org.il. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  17. ^ "faces". merhav.nli.org.il. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  18. ^ "Office in Tel Aviv Gallery – project 114 – Irit Segal Israeli & Roni Ben-Ari". officeintelavivgallery.com. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  19. ^ "TV news report about Drap-Art Barcelona 2012". Retrieved 12 February 2019 – via Vimeo.
  20. ^ "וואבי סאבי". artbeat.co.il. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  21. ^ "Vernon Gallery, Prague: Loom | Father | Requiem". ArtClue. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  22. ^ "Video, solo screening on Leumi Mani Building 2012". Retrieved 10 February 2019 – via Vimeo.
  23. ^ "Water Tower Art Fest". Water Tower Art Fest. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  24. ^ ""Montzi" exhibition in Cluj-Napoca, National Art Museum".
  25. ^ petravalentova (15 July 2013). "Spectrum, the power of colors – Petra Valentova at Tina B., GASK, Kutna Hora". Petra (Gupta) Valentová. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  26. ^ Culturel, Service (27 October 2014). "Les photographes Roni Ben Ari et Meir Rakocz à la Galerie Mémoire de l'Avenir". " coolisrael.fr (in French). Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  27. ^ Culture – 11/12/2014, 13 November 2014, retrieved 10 December 2017
  28. ^ "Zwischen den Streifen – Between the Lines – haGalil". haGalil (in German). 23 April 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  29. ^ "Woven Consciousness". eretzmuseum.org.il. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  30. ^ "Woven Consciousness Eretz Israel Museum 2014". Retrieved 15 April 2018 – via Vimeo.
  31. ^ Culture – 05/13/2015, 13 May 2015, retrieved 10 December 2017
  32. ^ "Adama exhibition India". Retrieved 15 April 2018 – via Vimeo.
  33. ^ "Ich lebe im Osten aber mein Herz ist im Westen – haGalil". haGalil (in German). 24 March 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  34. ^ "Roni Ben-Ari Photography – Drawing in Stone". Münchner Künstlerhaus (in German). Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  35. ^ "15th international triennale of tapestry 2016, textile Museum, Lodz | Roni Ben Ari, Photographer – רוני בן ארי, צלמת". www.ronibenari.com. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  36. ^ "Roni Ben-Ari. Krosno, ojciec, requiem". Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  37. ^ 15 Międzynarodowe Triennale Tkaniny, Łódź 2016 : Centralne Muzeum Włókiennictwa : 9.05.-30.10.2016 = 15 International Triennial of Tapestry, Łódź 2016 : Central Museum of Textiles 9.05. – 30.10.2016. Oko, Marcin., Piwońska, Jolanta., Ziemnicka-Darnowska, Barbara., Wróblewska-Markiewicz, Małgorzata., Centralne Muzeum Włókiennictwa (Łódź)., Biuro Tłumaczeń Specjalistycznych ArcusLink. Łódź: Centralne Muzeum Włókiennictwa. 2016. ISBN 9788360146583. OCLC 958215193.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  38. ^ "Lodz 'Pardes Festival' Anna Dąbrowicz on Roni Bn Ari / Centralne Muzeum | Roni Ben Ari, Photographer – רוני בן ארי, צלמת". www.ronibenari.com. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  39. ^ "Schema Projects – Tower of Babel". schemaprojects.com. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  40. ^ "Visura 2017 – book signing – of "Ladies in Waiting", NY".
  41. ^ "Roni Ben Ari 사진전 : Ladies in Waiting". Artbava 아트바바 (in Korean). Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  42. ^ Koyama, Junichiro (2007). "ISSN (International Standard Serial Number), ISSN Network and Japanese National Centre for ISSN". Journal of Information Processing and Management. 50 (3): 144–154. Bibcode:2007JIPM...50..144K. doi:10.1241/johokanri.50.144. ISSN 0021-7298.
  43. ^ "Roni Ben Ari – Arts and Society" (in French). Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  44. ^ "Bosom Bodies: An Art Exhibition in Honor of Breast Cancer Awareness". bosombodies.blogspot.co.il. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  45. ^ "Photography Museum, DIPF, 2017 the 16th DongGang International Photo Festival, Korea | Roni Ben Ari, Photographer – רוני בן ארי, צלמת". www.ronibenari.com. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  46. ^ "dipf2018". dipf2018 (in Korean). Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  47. ^ "Laugh Away | רוני בן ארי". Photo Is:Rael (in Hebrew). Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  48. ^ "Athens Photo Festival". Athens Photo Festival. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  49. ^ "Mémoire de l'Avenir". memoire-a-venir.org. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
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