Artist Ronit Levin Delgado On Art and Activism After October 7

Interview by Leah Kogen Elimeliah

Ronit’s art pulses with sensation and sentiment, weaving with threads of intensity and inquiry alongside our shared tapestry of heritage and tradition. Her exhibitions— whether it be One Nation, ACTIVATE: a New York’s Women Perspective, her immersive performance October Rain, or the evocatively curated BEWITCHED & BEWILDERED — they all invite the audience into a participatory dance of exploration. To engage with Ronit’s work is to accept an invitation to query, to be enchanted, and ultimately, to connect not only with the art but with ourselves. Her art acts as a conduit, a return to roots, self, and the natural rhythms that influence our everyday life. 

I discovered Ronit on my Instagram feed, which significantly shifted my digital and real-world landscapes post October 7th. Suddenly, every poetic verse and brushstroke became a reflection of our Jewish identity, echoing the tumult and conversations surrounding our people and our Nation. In this shared space of a creative collective, WE, as artists, mirror the essence of what Ronit captures in her vivid imagination and expressive self. Her art not only represents but actively engages in the dialogue of our times, pulling us into a collective journey of perception and acceptance. 

LKE: Can you briefly tell us about yourself and your background? 

After studying in Israel where I am from, I came to the States as a Fulbright Scholar. As a multidisciplinary visual and performance artist I have been showing in galleries and museums. I really enjoy collaborations, putting on shows and have also curated exhibitions. 

I am a daughter of two immigrants. My mom, Larisa, escaped antisemitism in Communist Moldova and came in the second aliyah to Israel which was one of the largest at the time. She arrived by boat, only two people were sent to the “left” and they came to Israel, the rest of the refugees ended up in the United States. My father Julio was Paraguayan, half Jewish. I am also part Native American, Guarani from his side of the family. He was the lead singer and songwriter of Los Tres Paraguayos band and had a beautiful opera voice and played guitar. Paraguay really respects Jewish people, that is why his band went to Israel to perform and that's how he met my mother. They got married and remained in Israel. My art touches on my Jewish identity which is so inherent and deeply rooted in me, and in all of us as a nation, with all our rich history and culture. 

LKE: Since October 7 you have done a lot of work to support Israel and the Jewish people. Tell us about some of your projects. 

As artists, it is our role, our super power, to use art as a voice, to amplify our message. Even before October 7th, I always incorporated my Jewish identity in my art. I also raised awareness for feminist art, social justice and climate change, those subjects and themes are always weaved in my work. And because I am a multidisciplinary performance artist, a lot of my art is interactive, connecting with the audience. I was an artist resident at Lower Manhattan Council of the Arts, a prestigious artist residency in NYC. I was coming in everyday, working on my two shows, one was for the Jerusalem Biennale, but after October 7th, I could not do any work, I was paralyzed. It started with a week, then two, then weeks went by where I couldn't get out of my house. My family is all in Israel and I was all alone. Not one out of the twenty two artists in the residency reached out to see if I was ok, except the other two Jews in the group. I was disappointed with how people around me were responding to the horrific events, there is just so much misinformation that spreads hate. 

I have Jewish friends but the majority of my friends are artists who are not Jewish, mostly liberal, leftist, and of course, I kept losing friends just because of where I come from. After weeks of feeling extremely isolated, I tried to work and get out of depression and isolation and fortunately, through a friend, I was introduced to Nitzan Mintz who is one of the artists who created the kidnapped posters. I started helping and hanging them up, doing advocacy work with them. We gathered in Union Square, at different places around NYC, organizing small groups which then grew larger and larger, like the Bring Them Home activists. It was so incredible to see what was happening, everybody coming together, B’Yachad, finally I felt like I was part of a community again, that we can heal together. 

This is when I realized that I wasn't really doing art but I was becoming an activist. Activism is language and so is Art. I had a realization, why not connect the two. So I became an “artivist.” I went back to my studio and found myself inspired by the same materials I was using in my activism work. I suddenly felt like I wanted to use them in my art, glues, sprays, posters. And so I created a poster installation with these materials, but got a lot of backlash from artists who were calling my work offensive, saying that artists are now forced to look at something that makes them feel uncomfortable. After that I created other #BringThemHome performances, such as on Governors Island 

and in a Chelsea Art Festival, which has almost 2 million views on Brainard Carey’s page. I recently did a live art painting event with Heermance in upstate New York. In addition, I received a distinguished grant from COJECO and Mayor Eric Adams, and am also curating an exhibition on antisemitism, which is taking place June 9 at 81 Leonard Street, NYC. 

LKE: Where do you see the art world going? 

It's devastating right now. When interviewed for a German magazine, I was explaining that as an artist I always made a point to strip down all sorts of identity labels and wanted to just be an artist, but now I feel like I am being forced, even by the art world, to not only put all my identities back on but to fight for them, even through my art. I feel like I must now connect all my art to my Jewish identity because it is so important right now. The alarming rise in antisemitism is forcing many artists to feel this way while also feeling quite isolated. The art world is divided by politics and the question is how did this happen? The art world stood by other minority groups but they don't really stand with the Jewish people, I think it has a lot to do with guilt and blind hate. The world wants us to go back to where we come from, where is that? I also think that Americans and Europeans have a lot of their own guilt. And if art is going to be political and divided into groups, and split then I don't know what its future will be. Before October 7, I tried to make my art genderless, apolitical, without boundaries, exploring the idea of joy and connectivity. Now I am forced into a very tight space. 

LKE: What is your favorite form of art as a multidisciplinary performance artist? 

I really love working with mixed media where I can explore and experiment with different materials and an interactive performance art that engages people because for me art is all about the shared experience and evoking feelings. I like to create objects and also include other elements such as sounds and smells. To me, Art should make us think and feel, be immersive and tangible. 

LKE: What are some projects you are currently working on? 

As I mentioned, my art has shifted so there was a show that just finished called ACTIVATE: a New York’s Women Perspective at the Jerusalem Biennale. I am a board member of the Jewish Arts Salon and we have an upcoming art show, Artists on Antisemitism at 81 Leonard Gallery in Tribeca, about antisemitism after October 7 from International artists, we will be doing a collaboration with Israeli artists. I am also very excited to participate again at this year’s Chashama Gala, which will be an interactive installation performance that will be apolitical, on June 20th in Midtown Manhattan.