In November 2011 Outset Israel in collaboration with Outset UK initiated a first research trip of Israeli curators and museum directors to London with the support of BI Arts (a British Council initiative in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture and Sport in Israel) and in association with Sapir College and Bezalel Academy of Art and Design. With this research trip Outset aimed at facilitating connections and collaborations between Israeli curators and the British art scene, reciprocating a visit of international curators to Israel hosted by Outset in 2010.
The following curators were chosen by a special selection committee:
Naomi Aviv, independent curator; Roy Brand, director and chief curator, Bezalel Yaffo 23, Jerusalem; Ruti Direktor, chief curator, Haifa Museum of Art; Drorit Gur-Arie, director and chief curator, Petach Tikva Museum of Contemporary Art; Rula Khoury, independent curator; Aya Lurie, director and chief curator, Shpilman Institute for Photography; Nirith Nelson, art director of the Jerusalem Center for the Visual Arts (JCVA) and advisor to the Jerusalem Foundation; Noam Segal, curator and artistic director, Rothschild 69 art space and content editor of Programma Magazine; Yaniv Shapira, curator of Ein Harod Museum of Art, Kibbutz Ein Harod; Sarit Shapira, curator, Igal Ahuvi Art Collection; Danna Heller, independent curator and initiator of IKT congress to Israel; Dr Raphael Zagury Orly, director and head of Bezalel MFA programme.
The research trip included visiting various institutions and meeting with directors and curators at Tate, Whitechapel Gallery, ICA, South London Gallery, Camden Arts Centre, Chisenhale Gallery, Drawing Room, The Showroom and others as well as artists based in London.
Collaborations and implications of the trip became apparent in various institutions such as Bezalel Yaffo 23, Petach Tikva Museum of Art, Shpilman Institute and others.
