Skip to content
Menu

Category: Social and Charitable Causes

Social and Charitable Causes
June 1, 2026
Astrophysicist Paz Beniamini Snags Science Prize — a Burst of Light for Reenergizing Open University

Astrophysicist Paz Beniamini of the Open University of Israel has been named a 2026 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in Israel Laureate in Physical Sciences & Engineering. Beniamini, who leads the university’s Astrophysics Research Center, was recognized for research into extreme cosmic events, including exploding stars, radiation bursts, and rapid collisions. His work combines theoretical physics with observational data, using distant astrophysical phenomena to explore questions that cannot be tested at the same scale on Earth. The recognition marks the first Blavatnik Award for the Open University of Israel, underscoring the growing strength of its focused astrophysics program. It also highlights the importance of supporting outstanding early-career scientists across a broad range of institutions. Through the Awards, the Blavatnik Family Foundation helps advance scientific discovery and recognize researchers whose work expands understanding of the natural world.

Arts & Culture
May 21, 2026
Daubs and Distractions

The Wallace Collection’s Winston Churchill: The Painter, supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation, invites visitors to look beyond Churchill’s public image and consider the discipline, pleasure, and persistence behind his art. The exhibition presents painting as a serious and sustaining part of Churchill’s life, beginning after the political crisis of 1915 and continuing across decades of public service. Rather than treating the works as historical curiosities, the show follows Churchill’s engagement with color, composition, and place, from the gardens and pools of Chartwell to the coastlines and landscapes he returned to throughout his life. It also places his work within a broader artistic context, acknowledging the guidance and influence of professional painters while allowing audiences to judge the paintings on their own terms. In doing so, the exhibition offers a more intimate view of a figure often understood primarily through politics and wartime leadership. The Foundation’s support helps make this reflective cultural presentation accessible to a wide public, deepening understanding of how artistic practice can illuminate history, character, and resilience.

Arts & Culture
May 21, 2026
Tentacles, Pointy Teeth and the T-Rex of the Sea: the Natural History Museum on Beasts that Once Ruled the Oceans

The Natural History Museum’s Jurassic Oceans: Monsters of the Deep, supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation, invites audiences beneath the surface of the prehistoric seas that once covered much of the planet. Through fossils, casts, and immersive displays, the exhibition introduces the marine reptiles, ammonites, ancient sharks, and other species that shaped ocean ecosystems more than 66 million years ago. Highlights include a plesiosaur skeleton, ichthyosaur specimens, and the skull of a mosasaur, helping visitors understand how these animals lived, hunted, and adapted. The exhibition also connects deep time with the present, showing how past changes in climate and marine life can illuminate the pressures facing today’s oceans. By linking scientific discovery with public engagement, the show encourages visitors to consider both the richness of prehistoric marine worlds and the fragility of ocean ecosystems today. The Foundation’s support helps make this research-led exhibition accessible to broad audiences, advancing public understanding of natural history, evolution, and environmental change.

Arts & Culture
May 20, 2026
Admit It, Art Snobs: Winston Churchill Was a Surprisingly Decent Painter

The Wallace Collection’s exhibition Winston Churchill: The Painter, supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation, offers a fresh reassessment of Churchill’s artistic practice. Although Churchill began painting only in midlife, following the Dardanelles campaign in 1915, he became deeply committed to the medium and produced more than 500 oil paintings over the course of his life. The exhibition brings together nearly 60 still lifes and landscapes, focusing on the subjects through which Churchill found creative focus and personal respite. Particular attention is given to his Moroccan landscapes, including his 1943 view of the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech, painted during the Second World War and later given to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The show also highlights Churchill’s attention to light, landscape, and reflection, including recurring views of the grounds at Chartwell. The Foundation’s support helps bring this lesser-known dimension of Churchill’s life to wider public attention, inviting audiences to consider the relationship between art, history, leadership, and private creative practice.

Load More

Learn More

Discover the cutting-edge science we fund

Providing many of the world's best researchers, scientists, and universities with support, and funding to discover breakthroughs that solve humankind's greatest challenges.

See how we support great cultural institutions around the world

The Foundation contributes to renowned institutions that showcase the breadth of arts and culture, including performance, exhibition and education.

Visit the Blavatnik Archive

The Blavatnik Archive is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to preserving and disseminating materials that contribute to the study of 20th-century Jewish and world history, with a special emphasis on World War I, World War II, and Soviet Russia.

Back to Top
Blavatnik Family Foundation
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

You can find more information by this link