In these times, it’s a bit strange to talk about design exhibitions, but the news coming to Israel this week is expected to put the country on the map. How? In the form of an international exhibition that will take place here every year. Meet TAAD, an international design and art fair that will be held in Israel for the first time. The fair will run for just one week, from March 5 to 11, at the Shlomo Group Arena in Tel Aviv. It will feature iconic designers alongside the hottest stars in the contemporary design scene, artists who have broken conventions and blurred the line between design and art, as well as several Israeli artists who are showcasing and selling their work on the international stage.
TAAD offers an innovative model combining a fair where all items are for sale with a curatorial exhibition featuring a selection of works from top galleries, workshops, and artists from around the world. The theme of the exhibition is EVERYDAY WONDER, offering an optimistic and inspiring perspective on the wonder design brings to our daily lives.
The collection of artwork to be displayed was selected by the fair’s founder and manager, Maria Nasimov, an internationally recognized curator, historian, and art advisor who lives and works in Tel Aviv. Nasimov has led and managed leading cultural institutions, including the Jewish Museum in Moscow, the Center for Tolerance, and the Moscow Biennale for Contemporary Art, and has curated exhibitions for top international artists such as Gerhard Richter and Anish Kapoor.
TAAD’s development manager, Mirav Katri, has over 15 years of experience in the art world, and for her, the current connection between art and design is significant. "I met Nasimov through the art world," she says. "She was the executive director and curator of the Jewish Museum in Moscow when she was in her twenties. Later, she took on the task of making the Jewish Museum a museum with visitors from all walks of life, achieving very high international success in the art world. After the war in Ukraine, the 'Soviet window,' as I call it, began to close for cultural figures there."
Katri explains that in recent years, there has been a significant wave of young cultural figures in their thirties bringing a fresh and interesting energy to the field. "These are people who worked in Moscow during the most exciting years of the city. Our producer was also one of the cultural event figures in Moscow. These are young people with a lot of knowledge and professionalism from Moscow’s most fascinating years. No one before them had done these things, and there were no limits to what they could do. But the political climate changed. They came here, and we were lucky."
Art as Art
TAAD is one of the initiatives of these cultural figures and is happening for the first time in Israel. If you're raising an eyebrow and wondering what design with collector prices has to do with the Israeli audience, you’ll be surprised to know that there is a large crowd eager for this. After Nasimov’s arrival in Israel, she consulted with the private sector and quickly realized that the Israeli audience is ready to purchase design for the home, even at prices for works of art.
"In recent years, the world of design has been very close to the world of art. This is the trend," Katri explains. "Even I, coming from the art world and traveling a lot to biennales, didn’t realize how much. Although there is a design-loving audience in Israel, our exposure to artistic trends is less. This is not a criticism, because we’re still a country in process and development in this field. From this place came the idea of bringing the latest trends in design here, showcasing the hottest items in the world between vintage and modern design, and, of course, tailoring it to what the Israeli audience will love, within a price range from $100 to tens of thousands."
The initial thought was to create a fair with galleries in the model of well-known international design fairs, where international galleries come, rent space, and sell their designs. But then the war broke out, and the feasibility of this idea decreased. Katri says: "I guess we’re not just called a 'startup nation' for nothing, because even the current format of the fair was born out of the need for a conceptual change. There was a problem, we realized that we couldn’t do things the way they’ve always been done, and we had to find a new business model."
The concept of TAAD, despite the items that will be sold, is that of an exhibition. The curator, Maria Christina Diderot, is one of the most recognized design and art curators in the world and is responsible for leading biennales that design enthusiasts travel for. Diderot has brought her vision to talked-about exhibitions around the world, including Design Miami, and served as editor of leading magazines such as Domus, Icon Design, and Wallpaper. "For us, the presence of a figure like Diderot in Israel has many meanings. An external curator, very well-known in her field, is very important. And anyone who arrives and understands the field will know that if she curated the pieces, they are worth buying, and that’s what’s okay to buy."
Diderot curated 600 objects from 120 different and leading artists from various countries—USA, Japan, Italy, Colombia, England, Sweden, Austria, Spain, Guatemala, China, Peru, Netherlands, Chile, Argentina, Germany, Brazil, France, Azerbaijan, and Switzerland. "After the curator selects the objects from galleries around the world, we make contact and check what’s available and can be brought to Israel. All the works this year are in the EVERYDAY WONDER concept, this place that wants to help us bring a little magic to our daily lives, and something that lifts our hearts."
How are the prices?
"We sign a consignment agreement, and it’s important to us that the prices are similar to those in São Paulo or New York. TAAD has several values: professionalism, where we bring all the important figures, transparency, and honesty—so we won’t sell items here at higher prices than they are sold for in other galleries."
How difficult was it to bring international designers to exhibit here in Israel, especially in such a time?
"Because of the war and the situation, only six guests from abroad are coming. We didn’t want to ask others to come, and we also thought it wasn’t right during this period. But we plan to hold this fair every November, starting November 2025. It’s a month that works well for an international design fair and doesn’t conflict with other biennales worldwide. The goal is, first and foremost, to put TAAD Israel on the international map of design fairs. As for cooperation, our assumption was that if this works and if it’s possible, it would only be if they cooperated with us, and we were pleasantly surprised by the design world. People are sending their works and participating."
I also understand from previous publications that the world of design is seen differently from the world of art, in the context of the war.
"In our case, it’s easier for artists to release works. I experience the difficulty of cooperating with Israel in the art world, and not just since yesterday. It’s not necessarily because someone has an issue with Israel, but there are artists who don’t want to participate in Israeli exhibitions or fairs, and there are galleries that don’t want to show publicly that they are exhibiting Israeli artists. Again, in the world of design, it’s different: international galleries recognize Israel and the interesting mix of the audience here. It’s an opportunity for them to better understand the Israeli market and test it. It’s enormous feedback from them. I also think that the very fact that we switched from a fair model to an exhibition and consignment model made it much easier for them and encouraged them to participate. We essentially took all the risks from them."
"It’s not taken for granted that this fair is taking off," Katri adds. "Its production lasted for a long time into the war, and we had several Zoom meetings that were interrupted by sirens. It’s a complex logistical event; there are many aspects, like the transportation of works to Israel, and insurance is an expensive business. But even on an emotional level, we’re dealing with planning for the future. There’s a thought that we send our children to fight for our future, and we’re not stopping; we continue to plan for the future. We believe it’s important to build a bridge between Israel and the global design scene."
Who is the Israeli audience?
"First of all, museum and gallery audiences. There is, as mentioned, an audience both in terms of buyers and visitors showing interest. There are many people with a preference for art and design, and much of this audience attends very similar international fairs. This fair is definitely also for the average person who wants to breathe a little outside the news, come and be exposed to a wealth of art and design. This is a global trend noticeable even on social media, and it’s for a younger age range than one might think. People are thirsty for this, especially during such a time."
Entrance to the event costs NIS 120, with discounts for senior citizens and students. Entry is free for children under 10 and soldiers. Katri concludes: "This is an event that’s a leisure activity. There will be cafes and restaurants, and the idea is to bring an object into the home that will lift our spirits and make us a little happier."