Orit Ishay

Orit Ishay (Hebrew: אורית ישי; born 1961) is an Israeli artist working in photography, video and installation. She is also a lecturer in photography. Ishay's art examines the interrelation between man and place and possible systems of representation, while addressing questions pertaining to social and mental issues through temporal and spatial motifs. Her work is usually accompanied by theoretical research.
Biography.
Ishay was born in 1961 in Tel Aviv-Yafo. During 1983-1986 she studied art at Ha'Midrasha School of Art, Beit Berl College. After her graduation, she studied and worked in the field of interior design. In 2000-2003 she was a freelance photographer for prominent Israeli magazines (including Royim Olam, Nisha and Masa Acher-Voyage). In 2003 Ishay resumed her art studies and attended the Photography Department of Musrara School of Photography, Media and New Music in Jerusalem, from which she graduated with honors in 2006. She then continued to specialize in the B.Ed. in Art program at The David Yellin Academic College, Jerusalem, which she completed with honors in 2007.
During her second year of photography studies in Jerusalem, Ishay was invited to participate in museal exhibitions in Cracow, Poland and in St. Petersburg, Russia. She has since exhibited in Israel and around the world. After her graduation from the Musrara School she won the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Award (2007-8, 2006-7). Although Ishay did not meet the award's age criteria, the committee justified its decision by referring to the quality and originality of the works.
In 2010-2012 Ishay studied in the postgraduate Fine Art Program at Ha'Midrasha School of Art, Beit Berl College, which she completed with honors. While attending the program she conducted a project in collaboration with essayist Oded Wolkstein, which culminated in the book "The House". The book, published by Ha'Kibbutz HaMeuchad – Sifriat Poalim in 2014, features original artworks by sixteen contemporary artists who responded to the poem "The House" by the poet Avoth Yeshurun. During her studies in the program Ishay was awarded creative scholarships for projects at the Cabri Print Workshop (2011) and the Jerusalem Print Workshop (2012).
Towards the end of 2014 Ishay will engage in a project at the MuseumsQuartier Wien, in the framework of an invitation to an extended residency program at quartier21 supported by Eikon, an international photography and media art magazine, following her 2010 exhibition at the FotoGalerie Wien in Vienna.
Over the years Ishay has presented several solo exhibitions as well as had her works featured in group exhibitions at prominent art venues in Israel and abroad; among them are The Israel Museum Jerusalem, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art in Bucharest, Romania and The Derby Museum of Art in the UK. In addition to her activity in the confines of the traditional white cube, Ishay also operates in the public space. In 2009, in protest against the selection of the participating artists, she performed a guerrilla action in which she placed a 3 meter high Styrofoam sculpture in the shape of the Oscars statue in the plaza of the Tel Aviv Art Biennial. In 2012 she led a tour that was open to the general public in 'Haifa Walks #2' project, held in the framework of the show Haifa-Jerusalem-Tel Aviv at the Haifa Museum of Art.
Ishay works are present in a number of public, private and institutional collections such as The Israel Museum Jerusalem; Ashdod Museum of Art; CCA Tel Aviv Video Archive; Bank Ha'poalim; America-Israel Cultural Foundation and in further collections both in Israel and abroad.