(haipo) One of Haifa's oldest and most significant cultural institutions, the Chagall Artists' House, has closed its doors for good after 72 years of operation. The institution, established in 1954 by the Haifa and North Painters and Sculptors Association, a non-profit organization, handed over its keys to the Haifa Municipality today (Tuesday, January 13, 26) after a solution to the property tax debt it had incurred was not found.
The Artists' House, which served for decades as a warm home for local and non-local artists, for exhibitions, cultural meetings and artistic discourse, is considered a cornerstone of the city's cultural landscape. However, in recent years, it has accumulated heavy property tax debts, amounting to over a million shekels. Repeated attempts to reach arrangements and compromises with the municipality have been unsuccessful.
In July 2025, she received Former Chairman of the Painters and Sculptors Association, Zehava Ziv Amzalag, An official warning letter without a proposal for a real solution. As a result, the association was forced to cancel exhibitions and activities planned until the end of the year, and reality ultimately led to the complete closure of the place. In an interview conducted with her in the past, upon receiving the warning letter, Ziv Amzalag said: “This is a vital institution that operates without profit. We support it ourselves from membership fees and income from exhibitions. The Artists’ House is a cultural, not commercial, anchor. Taking the house from us is taking part of the soul of the city.”
Now, it seems that things are taking on a tangible and painful meaning. In a conversation with Haifa today, Ziv Amzalag said: “This is final. We have put down the keys, in the hope that we may receive an alternative location or some kind of offer in the future. All the equipment, works and materials belonging to the association, which no longer exists, are inside the building, and we have nowhere to turn.”
The closure of the Chagall Artists' House is not only the end of a historical chapter, but also a warning sign about the fragile status of independent cultural institutions in the city. For many artists, residents, and culture enthusiasts, it is an especially sad day.
The Haifa Municipality informed Haifa News Corporation: The municipality will examine the continuation and manner of contact with representatives of the association.
What's the problem? You'll transfer it to Shas, establish a yeshiva, and pay municipal taxes from the tax money of the neighbor who is making reserves.
All over the world, private sector companies donate sports and cultural facilities on their behalf.
We need to recruit large companies in the economy to re-establish an artists' house and build museums.
Very interesting… property tax debt…
Because the Haifa Municipality, with the enormous property tax it collects from Haifa residents, the highest property tax in Israel (!), cannot finance the property tax of the Artists' House, an institution of paramount importance.
Another cutback in the inadequate service that the Haifa Municipality provides to the city's residents.
shame!!!
sad.
The level of culture in Haifa is "0".
And this is one of the reasons for migration from the city.
City administration, sit quietly and create these cultural and entertainment events we can consume, for example, this weekend or during next week.
In the absence of supply, travelers to Tel Aviv, which has 55 events, 55 museums with frequently changing exhibitions, and 555 galleries.
Tonight we will also go to a performance by Shlomi Shabat and Pablo, of course, in the booth.
Haifa = "0".
Sucks.
The culture is not managed.
T😎
The lack of investment in Haifa is very noticeable compared to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
The municipality is busy with more interchanges, bridges, bypasses, a bridge over the Matam intersection, another metro line, more asphalt spilled everywhere, billions on endless transportation amusements.
Instead of investing in quality of life, parks, new cultural buildings and museums, innovative educational centers.
No no no.. Yaffa Nof is only returning to pour asphalt all over the city.
This is a disaster for Israeli culture. Chagall was at the opening ceremony of the place that was named after him. It's a shame that the municipality took the building away from the artists!
Everything is closed.
When a stupid public repeatedly elects poor politicians with their education in mind, it's hard to get good results.
When you drive to the end of Shabtai Levi and stop at the traffic light at the T-intersection before turning right to go down to the lower city or left to go up to Carmel or Herzliya Street – then you see the Chagall House, from the other side of a busy intersection, zero parking, zero accessibility. Never in all my years in Haifa have I entered this building, and it’s not that I don’t go to art events. That’s the story of the Chagall House – a bad location and a disconnect. I recommend reopening somewhere more accessible and attractive – for example in the Moshava area, Talpiot Market, the lower city, the flea market… there’s no shortage of places.
The place was run in a way that didn't attract a crowd... Its location is also quite problematic, a busy intersection with no parking spaces. Maybe there are artists in Haifa and the north, but the general public isn't very interested in art... With so much information on the internet, people don't have the energy to see anything else. They don't teach art in school either, so the general public doesn't know how to appreciate art, and only the artists are interested in it, and mainly in their own art...
The mayor needs to wake up and support the Artists' House and culture in general.
There is a lot to do and he is not doing it.
A poverty certificate for the municipality and its head.
The Chagall House was open for a few hours a day, and mostly closed. Thus, the slow decay led to death. The Haifa Municipality could have leveraged this gallery, participated in its maintenance, but instead it was careful with the property taxes. Too bad.
Shame and disgrace! Because of property taxes, the Haifa Municipality is closing a cultural institution that is over 70 years old!!
Very sad! The city of Haifa is completely lacking in exhibition spaces for artists. And the Artists' House was among the few that existed in the city. I visited there regularly. I will not comment on the artistic content, because it served a specific and large audience that enjoyed it and that is the most important. At the same time, I cannot understand how they get to this situation with significant exhibition costs. Maybe they should have chosen new management, I don't know! Do a "restart" of some kind! It's a shame, a shame and a pain.
It's a real shame that there is no solution for such an institution.. I'm sure you will be welcomed with love at Carmel Castle.
This is a scandal, there was no real reason for the closure, the association was willing to pay the 7 years back property taxes that were required of it by law and the municipality did not respond to the letter and was not willing to accept. The property tax issue was just a lame excuse for the closure. There are artists' houses all over the country in much smaller towns. Haifa has no galleries and now the municipality has also closed the artists' house. The beautiful Pyramid Gallery is also not operating and the municipality does not care.
On Sderot Hanassi between the two hotels is the two storey building where Milav occupies the upper floor. The lower floor was a much used library. After a fire there this area was closed .. Why doesn't the Iryia transfer Bet Chagall to this buildingp
Did the Haifa Municipality celebrate its victory over the Painters and Sculptors Association? I suggest that the Association and all cultural figures in Haifa, who cannot afford the funds for their activities, join parallel organizations in Tel Aviv and generally transfer their artistic activities to Tel Aviv and the Dan Bloc. The Haifa Municipality is focused only on assisting the residents of Tirat Carmel who lack the resources to build a magnificent stadium for their team, Maccabi Haifa.
Why don't cultural institutions receive property tax exemption? It's not a business.
It's a shame that we haven't found a cultural solution. This is one of the most important things, especially in the wake of Donkium, and also to instill values in the younger generation who are immersed all day in front of computer screens and phones.
Maybe instead of charging residents a conservation levy, you could raise a modest amount of cultural levy for the benefit of culture in the city of Haifa.
Danger looms over all cultural institutions in Haifa
Mena Katz Museum closes
The Dying Pyramid
Dagon Museum closed
The Artists' House is closed.
Galleries are also closing, maybe 2-3 left.
Orand Gallery closed
Kibbutz Galuyot 91 Gallery Closed
Gallery 6 in Masada has closed.
Many artists left Haifa during the war.
I heard that the IDF is going to close the Illegal Immigration and Navy Museum, which will be moved to the municipality.
Is it impossible to find an entrepreneur/contractor who will accept the Artists' House in a lentil stew?
Or is the municipality interested in paying whoever takes the property?
The city hall building could also be vacated and sold to developers. Who needs so many officials?