Eyal Ofer Pavilion for Contemporary Art

Plan Your Visit

• Location: 6 Tarsat Street, Tel Aviv
• Open Times: Sunday-Monday closed. Tuesday 10:00-21:00, Wednesday 10:00-18:00; Thursday 10:00-21:00, Friday 10:00-14:00, and Saturday 10:00-18:00. 
• Prices: Adults 50 ILS; students, Tel Aviv residents, and disabled visitors 40 ILS; senior citizens 25 ILS. Entrance is free for visitors under 18 years old; escorts of disabled visitors, and recruited army reservists (order 8). 
• Average Visit Duration - 1-2 hours.
• Special Events: The museum hosts concerts, lectures, and special events that are advertised on its website.
• Notes for Visitors: Enjoy the museum’s Helena Wine Bar. The museum has audio guides in English and Hebrew, lockers, a museum store, and is fully accessible.
• Tours: Take a private Tel Aviv tour and include a stop at the Eyal Ofer Pavilion. If you are with a group it is possible to arrange a tour of the museum.

Eyal Ofer Pavilion for Contemporary Art (Image source: Yair Talmor CC BY 3.0)

This awe-inspiring museum is one of the Tel Aviv Museums of Art locations. Formerly the Helena Rubinstein Pavilion, this branch of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art is devoted to temporary exhibitions of contemporary art from Israel and abroad. The art covers a wide range of mediums from photography and paintings to installations and sculptures. The unique structure feels like a warehouse, or the framework of a building, with natural light flooding into the exhibition space. Art is displayed on the blank canvas provided by the barren walls and high ceilings of the museum building. If you’re interested in current artwork that will amaze, fascinate, and sometimes shock you, then don’t miss the Eyal Ofer Pavilion for Contemporary Art.

History of the Eyal Ofer Pavilion Art Museum

The history of the Eyal Ofer Pavilion for Contemporary Art goes hand in hand with the history of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, although the museum has changed locations several times and today there are three branches of the museum in three different locations. So it can get a bit confusing!

It all started in 1932, when Tel Aviv’s first mayor, Meir Dizengoff donated his home on Rothschild Blvd. to the city for use as a museum. In 1959, the Helena Rubinstein Pavilion for Contemporary Art, designed by the Israel Prize laureate architect, Yaakov Rechter, was opened. It was intended to be the new home of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, but it was soon clear that a larger space was needed. And so in 1971, the museum was relocated from Dizengoff’s house to 27 Shaul Hamelech Street and it became the museum’s main building.

 At that time the pavilion was used to display miniature period rooms and a glassware collection. In 2019, the museum building needed a facelift, and a new donor, Eyal Ofer, was found to fund the renovations. The remodeling was designed by the original architect’s son. Further renovations were completed in 2023. The Eyal Ofer Pavilion for Contemporary Art continues to be an integral part of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.

Tel Aviv Museum of Art Locations

The Tel Aviv Museum of Art includes the main building (Paulson Family Foundation Building) which holds the museum’s permanent collection of modern art plus changing exhibitions. Plus the Herta and Paul Amir Building which focuses on Israeli art and temporary exhibitions. Both these sections of the museum are on Shaul Hamelech Boulevard. Then there is the Eyal Ofer Pavilion which is in a different location in Tel Aviv on Tarsat Street.

Pro Tip: The museum is located in Tel Aviv’s Cultural Square, close to other cultural venues including Israel’s national theater, Habima, and the Charles Bronfman Auditorium.