Bezalel Art Fair in Jerusalem

What a great planter! It was on the sidewalk outside a small cafe. It is designed to look like a framed painting of a plant in a vase on an easel, with a real plant sticking out.

Last Friday I finally managed to visit the Bezalel Art Fair in downtown Jerusalem. The fair started in April, 2010, and seems to be an ongoing event, at least through the summer. It’s held on Fridays at three locations close to King George. It’s very similar to the Nahalat Binyamin craft market in Tel Aviv, but much smaller and less crowded. The quality of the merchandise was very high and I noticed quite a few English-speaking vendors. I really enjoy chatting with creative people!

There were baked goods, jewelry, clothing, bags (including beautiful little suede bags for 60 NIS, nicely finished inside, in colours like pink, powder blue, violet), some amazing hair clips made from real food (the artist was annoyed when I took a photo, so I won’t post it), books, photos, Judaica, mobiles, and a henna artist. If you’re looking for something to do on a Friday morning and you’re in the Jerusalem area, it’s a nice way to spend a couple hours.

If you’re hungry, CafeCafe is nearby and it’s kosher.

Simtat Bezalel Hakatan Street

Henna by Sienna Henna artist, Cheryl Stone

Oogies baked goods (I don’t think the head was for sale)

Bread by Metabelim bakery

Photographer Julia Schiller from Wisconsin. She uses an emulsion technique to apply photos to mezuzah cases and metal plaques.

Wind Spinner breeze catchers

Bezalel Art Fair

Web site (in Hebrew): http://www.bezalelfair.com/home
Location: Simtat Bezalel Hakatan Street, Shatz Street, and Gan Hashiver (the small park beside HaMashbir department store) in Jerusalem
Time: Fridays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
Admission: free