Museum celebrates 50 years

Kids, above, run next to 'Turning the World Upside Down,' a sculpture by Indian British artist Anish Kapoor which is on display outside the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

Created in 1965, the museum is celebrating its 50th anniversary. It will host events and special exhibitions throughout the year, including one gathering masterpieces of the last 50 years, to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Kicking off the museum’s celebratory year are several solo exhibitions by contemporary Israeli artists working today, coupled with an examination of Israel’s visual culture at the time of the museum’s founding.

A visitor looks at art pieces displayed at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. (Photo: Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images)

One exhibition, entitled "6 Artists 6 Projects," presents new works by some of Israel's leading contemporary artists, whose practice resonates in counterpoint with the aesthetic traditions that accompanied the opening of the museum 50 years earlier.

Visitors look at an installation, made of dozens of ordinary objects that represent Israeli culture, at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. (Photo: Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images)

An exhibit called "1965 Today" immerses visitors in the mid-1960s, beginning with a dioramic illustration of the popular design aesthetic of the time. The exhibition includes works by artists who participated in Israel’s emerging art scene and also references the artists they would have seen or known internationally at the time.

The museum, which sits on a 20-acre campus, houses encyclopedic collections, including works dating from prehistory to the present day.

Visitors look at art pieces displayed at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. (Photo: Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images)