Draft:Nechama Golan

Golan was brought up secularly in military housing. Her father's family, from Poland, lost many relatives in the Holocaust. Her mother emphasized the importance of art and music. Golan explains that her love for art was "inherited" from her environment. When she was twelve, Golan's parents divorced. As a result, she turned to prayer for support.{{Cite web |title='One of my feet is planted in faith and the other in art, while being aware of the gap between them' |url=https://www.makorrishon.co.il/culture/391917/ |access-date=2024-04-01 |website=www.makorrishon.co.il|date=29 August 2021 }}

Before attending higher education, Golan had two daughters and served in the military.{{Cite web |last=bit_editor |date=2020-02-26 |title=נחמה גולן: "יש לי ציפייה שאמנים דתיים יביאו את עולם התוכן שלהם, את התרבות וההוויה הדתית לתוך האמנות" {{!}} בית לאמנות ישראלית |url=https://israeliart.co.il/%D7%A0%D7%97%D7%9E%D7%94-%D7%92%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%9F |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=לימודי אמנות, קורסים באמנות, לימודי אוצרות {{!}} בית לאמנות ישראלית |language=he-IL}} Golan graduated from the Avni Institute of Art and Design of Tel-Aviv in 1980 with a degree in Art Studies.{{Cite web |title=Imago Mundi Collection |url=https://imagomundicollection.org/artworks/nechama-golan-male-female |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=imagomundicollection.org}} Afterward, she began to observe Orthodox Jewish practice. Her process of learning to live in accordance with Jewish law provoked a five year hiatus from the art world. She resumed her public creative process in 1990. Golan states, "I acquired my artistic education in a 'secular body,' and when I came to fulfill it I was in a 'religious body.'" In 1996, she earned a degree in Jewish Philosophy from Bar-Ilan University.{{Cite web |title=Imago Mundi Collection |url=https://imagomundicollection.org/artworks/nechama-golan-male-female |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=imagomundicollection.org}}

Using the Torah's mandate against depicting human figures, Golan determines whether a certain piece of her art is permissable. She also buries the sacred texts she utilizes in her work in accordance with Jewish law.

Golan's piece "You Shall Walk in Virtuous Paths," is a sculpture consisting of a high-heeled shoe covered in copies of pages from Tractate Kiddushin of the Talmud. Through it, she highlights the contrast between the heel's capacity for female objectification and the sacred text's holiness.

Her works are often studied in Israeli high school classrooms.{{Cite web |title=Nechama Golan – 'Body Text': Feminist Art in Diverse Religio-Cultural Spheres in Israel |url=https://art2021.rackmancenter.com/nechama-golan/ |access-date=2024-04-01 |language=en-US}}

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