BIO

I am a choreographer, director, performer, multidisciplinary artist, writer and journalist. I work across dance, physical and visual theater, video, sound and writing. Moving between the stage, screen, gallery, web and print, my practice explores the relationship between body and text, with a particular interest in the body as a living archive and an agent of change.

My work engages with the quest for home and freedom, and with questions of trauma, war, migration and female identity, while navigating the tension between spoken language and embodied experience.

I have performed and exhibited my work in dance and film festivals, museums and galleries in Israel, the US, Asia and Europe. My work has been supported by grants and residencies, including the Nira Friedman Grant and Yael – Home for Independent Dance Makers. In 2025, I received the Most Outstanding Performance Award from the Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival (AIMAFF) for my performance in This Is Where I Leave You, my debut film, which I also wrote and directed. To explore my artistic work, visit the Creations page.

My poetry and essays have been published in literary magazines including Granta, Write Haus and Hafuz. A selection of my writing can be found on the Writing page.

I have been working as a journalist and editor since 2014, covering visual art, performance and dance. From 2017 to 2020, I served as Head of the News Desk at Haaretz English. Today, I work as an independent journalist and critic, writing about art, performance and dance for publications in Israel and internationally, including Haaretz, The Jerusalem Post, The Times of Israel, Flash Art, The Art Newspaper and Collectors Agenda. For a full list of publications, visit the Journalism page.

Alongside my artistic and journalistic work, I lecture on visual art, philosophy, psychoanalysis, dance, performance and literature at cultural events, conferences and other public programs. Recordings of selected previous lectures can be found on the Lectures page.

I hold a B. Dance from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, where I am currently completing an M. Dance in choreography.


PRESS

  •  Lessons in the language of separation: Joy Bernard at Alfred Gallery: Interview by Reut Barnea, Portfolio Magazine (Hebrew)

  • Banditka Questionnaire with Joy Bernard: Interview by Anna Bershtansky, Banditka Magazine (Hebrew)

  • "Joy Bernard's dance Therapy": Interview by Ori J. Lenkinski, The Jerusalem Post

  • ”Art exhibition in Tel-Aviv: Me, me, me”: Review by Katharina Hoeftmann, Israel Zwischenzeilen (German)

  • “Where is Joy Bernard going next": Interview by Gal Houbara-Bergman, Portfolio Magazine (Hebrew)

  • "Back to Square 1: When action-taking is inevitable": Review by Yuval Saar, Portfolio Magazine (Hebrew)

  • “Kan Culture with Goal Pinto": Radio interview(Hebrew)