Hadas Ophrat

 Biography

Hadas Ophrat is a leading figure in Israeli interdisciplinary art. Dramaturg and teacher of visual theater and artivism in various art schools.

Founder of The School of Visual Theater and co-founder of The Train Theater and Hazira - Performance Art Arena - in Jerusalem and the Lewinsky Garden Library for asylums and migrating communities in Tel Aviv.

Ophrat studied literature and philosophy at Tel Aviv University (1972-75). He then practiced Bunraku and Noh theatre in Osaka, Japan (1984-6). He completed graduate studies (MSc.) at the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, the Technion Institute of Technology, Haifa (2016); his research field is art intervention as a tool for urban renewal.

He has directed, designed and performed dozens of theater and performance-art oeuvres. His Performances and media installations have been shown at numerous art events, solo and group exhibitions of contemporary art in Israel and Europe, including a solo exhibition at the Israel Museum (2007).

He was awarded the Minister of Culture prize for excellence in Art (2008) and the Israel Prize for performing arts (2016). 

He has published two books of poetry: Selected Poems (1973) and Threshold (1976) and three books on performative and artistic issues: Ever Never (2004), Conversations with a Puppet – on contemporary puppetry (2008), Too Much Reality – on the art of performance (2012), a DVD of documented performances (2005) and few catalogues of his major exhibitions.