Call for Submissions – Master Class with Shay-Li Uzi'el

במסגרת מענק ריבקינד בן צור לאמנות, חינוך וקהילה

The Center for Contemporary Art invites undergraduate and graduate students at art institutions, as well as recent graduates of art schools, to participate in a Master Class with artist Shay-Lee Uziel, as part of the installation of his exhibition at the Center, which will open at the end of November 2026.

The Master Class takes place as part of the Rivkind Ben Tzur Grant for Art, Education and Community, and is intended for undergraduate and graduate students at art institutions, as well as graduates who completed their studies in the past two years (2024–2025).
The Master Class is intended for those who have no prior acquaintance or professional connection with Shay-Lee Uziel [to read more about the artist, click here].

The grant recipients will take part in a unique internship program and work alongside the artist in a process of research, experimentation and creation toward the exhibition. As part of the Master Class, participants will be introduced to Uziel’s working method, in which mushroom cultivation, sculpture, material, photography, space and uncertainty coexist, and will experiment with techniques and working methods that are part of his practice.

The work will begin in a greenhouse at the school in Jaffa (explanation below), continue through collaborative work in the artist’s studio in Tel Aviv, and conclude with a move into the exhibition space at the Center for Contemporary Art. In addition, the internship program will include individual mentoring sessions with the curators of the Center for Contemporary Art, as well as a professional-tools workshop on preparing applications to art foundations, led by Iris Rivkind Ben Tzur [to read more about the workshop, click here].

The work is collaborative and includes direct experience in the process of installing an exhibition, alongside the development of a group and shared work among the team members, curator and artist, as well as an understanding of how the working process develops in practice through dialogue, division of roles and shared responsibility. The workshop is intended for participants with the ability and desire to work together and create a temporary community around the exhibition.

About the Project and the Master Class

At the center of Shay-Lee Uziel’s unique project is a greenhouse for growing mushrooms, which serves as a space for work, research and creation. The greenhouse is a living system in which cultivation processes, material practice, studio photography, video documentation and a changing environment all exist side by side. The exhibition at the Center for Contemporary Art will bring this practice into the exhibition space. The Master Class will introduce participants to Uziel’s working methods and enable them to experiment with them in practice. The work will move between several modes of operation:

Cultivation as sculptural material – An introduction to mycelium, substrates, growing vessels, molds and containers, and experimentation with possibilities for intervening in and directing growth processes through material and structural constraints.

Working with materials and systems – Examining the relationships between living matter and industrial, constructed and found materials; experiments in wrapping, compressing, joining, casting, cutting, dismantling and changing growth conditions.

Material and experimental research – Working with a range of materials from the artist’s studio and creating a shared “material library.” Participants will examine material properties and experiment with unexpected combinations, hybrid materials and changes in function, context and scale.

Photography and observation – Using photography, particularly macro photography, as a tool for observing mushrooms, mycelium, materials and minute details. The work will include experiments with lighting, depth of field, viewpoint and cropping.

The process will begin in the greenhouse, continue through collaborative work in the artist’s studio, and conclude with a move into the exhibition space. Participants will be partners in the transition between the workspaces and will take part in turning the products of the greenhouse, as well as the objects and works created during the workshop, into part of an overall installation.

The workshop is intended for participants with the ability and desire to work together, experiment, research and respond to processes that are not always predictable, and to create a temporary community around the exhibition process.

Activity Description

The working process that the interns will help develop will be based on a combination of mushroom cultivation, sculpture, photography, material and space.

The open call is intended especially for students and graduates interested in unconventional materials and creative processes, as well as in connections between art, science, architecture and space. We are looking for creators with curiosity, observational skills and a willingness to work through an ongoing process of experimentation, change and uncertainty.

The ability to work independently and as part of a team is required, along with a willingness to experiment with new materials and techniques and commit to the shared working process.

Additional Information and Conditions

The Master Class will include an introductory meeting and six sessions: four four-hour sessions, to take place in the greenhouse at the school in Jaffa and in Shay-Lee Uziel’s studio, followed by two six-hour sessions during the week of installing the exhibition:

Introductory meeting – Center for Contemporary Art
Friday, October 16, 11:00–13:00
2A Tzadok HaCohen Street, Tel Aviv

Session 1 – Greenhouse, Municipal School 7
Friday, October 23, 10:00–14:00
10 Hiddushei Yirim, Jaffa

Session 2 – Greenhouse, Municipal School 7
Friday, October 30, 10:00–14:00
10 Hiddushei Yirim, Jaffa

Session 3 – Shay-Lee Uziel’s studio
Friday, November 6, 10:00–14:00
5 HaNegev Street, Tel Aviv

Session 4 – Shay-Lee Uziel’s studio
Sunday, November 8, 16:00–20:00
5 HaNegev Street, Tel Aviv

Sessions 5 and 6 at the Center for Contemporary Art:
During the week of November 15, between 10:00 and 16:00

The interns will receive full credit from the CCA on its website and social media for their participation in the Master Class. They will also be asked to note on their CVs that they participated in the exhibition as active interns במסגרת המענק.

The Master Class will be documented for the production of a short video, which will include interviews with participants and be distributed on the Center’s social media. Participation is mandatory.

Each participant will receive compensation of NIS 2,500.

The individual mentoring sessions and the professional-tools workshop on preparing applications to art foundations will take place after the exhibition opens.

To Apply

Those interested in applying are asked to submit the registration form (link to the forms in Hebrew / English) no later than September 26.

In addition to personal details, the form includes:

• A paragraph describing the applicant’s areas of interest and artistic practice (up to 250 words).
• A paragraph describing their interest in the Master Class with Shay-Lee Uziel (up to 250 words).
• An up-to-date portfolio (up to 15 images, as a PDF file).

The portfolio should be sent to: [email protected]

Participation is conditional upon signing an engagement contract and requires full attendance at all sessions and throughout the exhibition installation stages.