Spotlight from the Adama Exhibition: Eliya Zilberberg

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Eliya for many years. During the Adama project, we often carpooled together — using those drives to talk, share ideas, and deepen our thinking about the many directions the project could take. I deeply value her candor, sharp wit, and intelligence, and collaborating with her on Adama has been a true joy. Eliya is an artist and art teacher based in Eli, creating in a variety of media. Her past works have explored themes such as consumerism, Israeli society, language, the Bible, and her personal story. Over the years, she has curated exhibitions, developed art workshops as a tool for personal empowerment, and taught in diverse educational settings — including gifted programs and girls’ high schools. In both her creative and educational work, Eliya weaves together identity, art, and community. The Adama exhibition features four of Eliya’s works, two of which were created following the artists’ meetings. Her sculptures, built from natural and found materials, feel both grounded and poetic — growing, quite literally, from the earth around her. One especially moving work, My Heroic Mother-in-Law z”l, tells the story of her late mother-in-law, a Holocaust survivor. The portrait is made entirely from materials she left behind: the face is embroidered from her sewing threads, and the hair is an unfinished sweater, knitting needles still in place — a tender, tangible memory transformed into art. Another piece, The Gift, is a collage dedicated to the hills of Judea and Samaria as a gift from God. The work incorporates tzitzit in army green, symbolizing the unique devotion and sacrifice of the religious Zionist community in protecting this divine gift. The two additional sculptures, Religious Zionism: A Pattern of Thought and From the Earth, are crafted from natural materials gathered from her surroundings. They reflect cycles of growth, community, and rootedness — qualities that define both her life and her artistic vision. Swipe through to see Eliya and her powerful works up close, and to celebrate the depth, beauty, and thought she brings to Adama.