Course General Description

The Jewelry and Fashion Design Department of the Bezalel Academy is responsible for all creative activities addressing the immediate vicinity of a person's body. Exploration, research and design activities pertaining to the immediate vicinity of the human body – with regard to materials, technologies, culture and ideas – take place through the two major programs currently offered by the Department: jewelry design and fashion design. The Department's uniqueness stems from its in-depth approach to technical expertise on the one hand and thorough research on the other hand, which enable the existence of a diversified 'material laboratory'. The discourse between the various activities taking place at the Department is formed within the space of this laboratory.

School General Description

Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design is an academic college of design and art located in Jerusalem, Israel. Established in 1906 by Jewish painter and sculptor Boris Schatz, Bezalel is Israel's oldest institution of higher education. It is named for the Biblical figure Bezalel, son of Uri (Hebrew: בְּצַלְאֵל בֶּן־אוּרִי), who was appointed by Moses to oversee the design and construction of the Tabernacle (Exodus 35:30). The art created by Bezalel's students and professors in the early 1900s is considered the springboard for Israeli visual arts in the 20th century. Bezalel is currently located at the Mount Scopus campus of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, with the exception of the Architecture department, which is housed in the historic Bezalel building in downtown Jerusalem. In 2009 it was announced that Bezalel will be relocated to a new campus in the Russian Compound, as part of a municipal plan to revive Jerusalem's downtown. The new Bezalel campus is planned by the Tokyo-based award-winning architectural firm SANAA.