Agripas 12 is a cooperative art gallery that was founded in 2004 by 15 independent Israeli artists - themselves renowned and accomplished graduates of such prestigious Jerusalem-based schools as Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Hadassah College and the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School. The gallery is non-profit and not commercial in that all its exhibitions are collectively decided upon by the founding group who view the gallery space as an extension of the creative process: make art, show art, be art.

 

Agripas 12 is all about immediacy and accessibility to art. There are no agents, middlemen or commercial aims. Here, artists and visitors interact directly. Works of art either speak for themselves or get you talking, whether in the exhibition space or out on the streets of Jerusalem below. The gallery's goal is to break the traditional relationship between artists and artistic institutions. Leave all your artsy-fartsy pretentiousness at the door, because here no one is going to dictate Art (with a capital A). It's up to you to decide and draw your own conclusions about.

 

As one of the first cooperative artistic groups in Jerusalem, Agripas 12 has been paving the way for newer artistic collectives, such as Hagigit or Barbur, to take hold of Jerusalem's burgeoning cultural scene in different directions and media. Since its opening, Agripas 12 has hosted dozens of solo and group exhibitions, along with gallery talks, music performances and poetry readings. Exhibitions have featured works of the 15 founding artists, including married, accomplished photographers Einat Arif and Yossi Galanti.

 

Image detail from Yochi Negev's current show, Boardland, courtesy Agripas 12.