Ramat HaNadiv presents sculpture among the shrubs: artists, visiting hours and what to check before traveling
Five artists feature in Exhibition in the Shrubs at Ramat HaNadiv's gardens, with an opening announced for 23 October. Admission is free; the works blend with the planting and visits follow garden hours.
Ramat HaNadiv is presenting Exhibition in the Shrubs in its gardens, a group sculpture exhibition integrating works by five artists among the plants and paths. The organizers announced a festive opening for 23 October 2026 at 11:00. Admission to the exhibition is free, and visits take place during garden opening hours, between Zichron Yaakov and Binyamina.
The participating artists are Eden Bannet, Zohar Gotesman, Yaacov Dorchin, Dov Feigin and Moshe Roas, with curators Prof. Ido Bruno and Efrat Klipstein. For anyone seeking an outing combining art and walking, the central practical detail is that the works are outdoors. Plan around daylight, weather and a route appropriate for your visitors, rather than the habits of visiting an indoor gallery.
What changes when the garden is part of the exhibition
According to the exhibition page on Ramat HaNadiv's website, the installation also focuses on corners where the vegetation is less orderly than in the manicured parts of the gardens. This choice offers encounters with works that are not separated from their surroundings by walls or a neutral exhibition space. The planting is part of how visitors come across them.
For the curators, the exhibition explores relationships between human creation and nature, and how light, material and time alter the viewing experience. That is a curatorial intention, not a promise that every visitor will experience the same thing. You can arrive with knowledge of art, or start with the simple question of what looks as though it belongs in the garden and what seems to have been brought in from outside.
The setting adds a layer of remembrance: Ramat HaNadiv's gardens cover about 70 dunams and surround the tomb of Baron Edmond de Rothschild and his wife. As also described in Makor Rishon, the exhibition joins a place where gardening, commemoration and environmental activity already coexist.
Three works offering different ways of looking
Works featured in the official publication include Shelter by Yaacov Dorchin, Marom (On High) by Moshe Roas and Road Fossil by Eden Bannet. You do not need to understand all their background beforehand to find a way in, but knowing the starting idea can change what catches your attention during the visit.
According to its description on the website, Marom was built from a cast of a palm branch, replicated and assembled into a new structure. Bannet's Road Fossil starts from a tire track, a mark of everyday movement given a sculptural presence. These are two different ways of taking a familiar form and moving it from one context into another.
The curators describe Shelter through its resemblance to a natural structure and a place of protection. As you walk, compare how each work looks from a distance with the details revealed as you approach it from the path. This is a suggestion for looking, not a description of a guided tour or activity promised to the public.
Loaned works and an encounter between generations
Alongside these pieces are works by Zohar Gotesman and Dov Feigin, loaned to the exhibition. Bringing together artists from different periods broadens the framework beyond presenting a single contemporary work. It allows visitors to consider how imagery, materials and context vary between pieces, even when they share the same garden setting.
The exhibition website describes Feigin's work depicting a girl and a doe, with a hand extended toward the animal. The curatorial text also connects the sculpture to the memory of children from Kibbutz Afikim who died of polio. Here, context changes the reading: what initially appears to be a quiet encounter between human and animal also carries commemorative meaning.
There is no need to make the visit a test of name recognition. Choose one work, read its explanation and then continue to the others. On a family visit, ask what the sculpture reminds each person of, then compare that with the artist's description. This is a suggestion for an independent visit and requires neither joining a workshop nor buying an additional activity.
Hours, location and costs that need to be distinguished
The garden map on the official page lists different opening hours by day: Sunday, Wednesday and Friday, 08:00 to 16:00; Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, 08:00 until sunset. The website notes that events may cause changes, so check the activity calendar shortly before arriving.
Admission to the exhibition and gardens is free. Parking is a separate expense: Ramat HaNadiv's official activity pages list a daily rate of 10 shekels for a private car and 60 shekels for a bus or minibus. Free admission does not mean every service or guided activity is included. If you plan to join a tour, ask separately about its price, date and registration requirements.
The site is between Zichron Yaakov and Binyamina. When navigating, select Ramat HaNadiv itself rather than the center of a nearby town. Public transport users should also check the final stretch to the entrance and the options for returning; no direct bus route or particular frequency is promised here. The website lists 04-6298111 for inquiries.
Accessibility and planning a visit with children
Ramat HaNadiv's website shows a wheelchair-accessible route through the gardens and the option of borrowing a wheelchair at the information station. This does not establish that every viewing point for every sculpture is equally accessible. If you need a step-free route or close access to a particular work, check with the staff in advance.
Families with a stroller can also consult the garden map before leaving. Choose a clear starting point and keep the option of shortening the visit, instead of assuming you must see every work. If the exhibition is the purpose of the visit, there is no need to add a long route in the nature park. These are different commitments of time and effort.
For broader planning, our guide to planning a family trip to a nature reserve may also help, especially with matching a route to your group and preparing ahead. Ramat HaNadiv sets its own admission conditions and services, so they do not follow from another outdoor site's rules.
What has been announced for the future, and what to confirm
A publication about the exhibition in Poenta said it was intended to last about a year, while Makor Rishon described it as the first chapter in an ongoing effort to display art on Ramat HaNadiv's grounds. That horizon allows a visit beyond the first weekend, subject to the site's updates.
The opening time given here is the announced time, not an account of a ceremony attended by the editorial team. Before making a special journey, confirm that the display and route you want are open that day. You can then build a visit around what genuinely interests you: a particular work, a short wander among the sculptures or a longer encounter between art and garden.
