The Artists’ House

The Artists' House in the Negev is a center of art galleries and workshops in the Old City of Beersheba. The center includes seven galleries and a number of painting workshops that operate on Fridays.

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The Artists' House in the Negev was opened in 2005. At first, there were less than ten artists (volunteers) who sat in the Be'er Avraham area. Only Negev artists were invited to the house in order to promote southern art.

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The building was built during the British Mandate period. In 1935, it was handed over to Dr. Reuven Meir and his wife, Yehudit, in order to establish a clinic that would provide the Bedouin free medical service in order to demonstrate the good will of the Jewish community. Dr. Meir, who did not know Arabic, was assisted by his native-born wife who spoke Arabic with patients, and the place became a social center for Bedouin and Jews.

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Dr. Reuven Meir and Yehudit left the house in 1936 because of anti-Jewish incidents. The number of patients declined and they decided to leave Beersheba. After their departure, another Jewish family lived in the house but not for long; they had to leave because of the security situation. During the Aliyah from Morocco, the houses in the area were divided among the immigrants.