Oral Interview with Hinda Avery for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Bill Gruenthal. Hinda speaks about her family history in Poland, Russia, and immigration to Vancouver before World War II and the beginning of the Holocaust. She discusses her maternal family’s experience in the Holocaust and her immediate family’s livelihoods in Canada. Hinda talks about her childhood in Vancouver where there was little Jewish community and its impact on her and her relationship with her parents. Hinda discusses how her trip to concentration camps and Holocaust memorials in Europe influenced her decision to pursue visual arts as a form of therapy after she retired from teaching. She speaks about her style of mural illustrations of herself and women in her family resisting against perpetrators of violence during the Holocaust. Hinda talks about how she keeps her artwork, and her difficulty showing her work in Jewish institutions. Hinda speaks about artists who inspire her, how her work was translated into a film, and her previous awards and grants. She also discusses her passion for animal rights, her interest in biology, and her outlook on her wisdom in life.
Oral Interview with Stacey Lederman for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Perry Seidelman. Stacey talks briefly about her family history and growing up in Tsawwassen. Her post-secondary education led her to working in business and finance, but having children changed her career path after not working for more than a decade. Stacey discusses her introduction to recreational art classes in Vancouver and how attention from peers quickly saw her realize her talent, and also book her first art show. She describes her work as mixed-media, which includes using different mediums such as acrylics, ink, resin, and photography. Stacey talks about how she is drawn to edgy, colourful pieces including graffiti which can be seen in her own art pieces. Stacey talks about the artists who inspire her as the motivations behind her pieces. Stacey discusses the theme of hearts in her work, art crawls, and her favourite pieces of work. She speaks about how visiting Israel inspired her, and how things like real life, emotion and intuition informs her art practice.
Oral Interview with Suzy Birstein for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Carol Herbert. Suzy was born in Toronto, ON and she describes her family history within Toronto and origins in Eastern Europe. She describes growing up with artistic influences from her parents who liked classical painters and attending art galleries and her aunts who would knit and embroider. It wasn’t until college that Suzy saw herself as an artist; through working as an artist model, she was exposed to various studio spaces and art classes. Suzy speaks about her experience at Emily Carr, in learning hand building pottery, and being a full-time artist while balancing motherhood both in Toronto and in Vancouver. She also talks about her artistic style, including the influences of Kahlo and Picasso and prominent themes including feminism, resilience and expression; These can be seen in her Frida Kahlo inspired exhibition and in her Ladies Not Waiting series. Suzy discusses the highlights of her career including her work for the 2008 Academy Awards and her teaching of workshops at an artist residency in Greece. She also talks about her teaching at Arts Umbrella and within the wider community
Oral Interview with Monica Gewurz for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Carol Herbert. Monica tells the story about how her parents met and how they ended up in Peru, where she was born. She describes how she ended up in Canada through education in the sciences where environmental planning was a large focus of her studies and careers, and how environmentalism informs her art practice. Monica talks about her mission of incorporating visually pleasing images, most often natural landscapes, to advocate for environmental causes. These works often include using upcycled materials and attempts to illicit emotional response from the viewer in hopes of bridging the gap between art and science in her work. Monica discusses her experimental processes of making paintings and mixed-media pieces, and how she revisits old works to upcycle them as her methods change. She also explains her self confidence and adaptability, and how this has led to work with galleries, commissions and charity. She closes with thoughts on the accessibility of art.
Oral Interview with Lori Goldberg for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Daniella Givon. Lori, born and raised in Vancouver, talks about her family’s history in BC and abroad, her childhood, and early artistic influences in her family. She also discusses how she was introduced to visual arts through attending classes at the Vancouver Jewish Community Centre and her education at Langara and the Ontario College of Art in Toronto. Lori describes how she struggled to find her footing and artistic identity in college and how it affected her mental health, but prompted her to return to Vancouver and get her own art studio on Granville Island. Lori talks about her development as an artist, becoming a teacher at Emily Carr, and continuing art education as a single mother. Lori discusses how travelling to Bali and seeing the country’s spirituality concerning objects inspired her future art projects that addressed meaning and memory in kept things, but also offered her a new outlook on the mundane, like using dryer lint as an art medium. She also talks about being able to do charity in Cambodia through art, and how observing discarded objects influenced the creation of a new exhibit centering environmentalism. She closes with talk about her work with galleries and experiences with commissions.
Oral Interview with Barbara Heller for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Daniella Givon. Barbara, born in Vancouver Canada, talks about her family’s origins in Poland and immigration to Canada. She speaks about her upbringing in Vancouver and how she was surrounded by art in her childhood, leading her to become a visual person and a creative. Barbara discusses her interest in religious mysticism which inspired her education and later, became a specific influence in her art pieces. She speaks about how at first she wanted to be a printmaker but pregnancy led her to work with tapestry and she never looked back. She speaks about recurring symbols, like dead birds, in her art which provide a greater message to her audience about themes like life and war. Barbara discusses the highlights of her career, like showing art in Poland and working with various art collectives within North America, all with the support of her family.
Interview with Elan Mastai about his mother Judith Mastai, interviewed by Michael Schwartz. Elan speaks about his maternal family’s origins in Chicago and Vienna, Austria and how the family immigrated to Vancouver, Canada because of Judith’s father’s pharmaceutical career. Elan discusses Judith’s upbringing and education in Oakridge and her enthusiasm for theatre, inspiring her education and early career as a theatre actress and director. Elan talks about Judith’s time as a theatre actress in London, England and English teacher in Jerusalem, where she met her husband, Moshe Mastai. Judith then immigrated back to Vancouver to obtain her PhD in education and raise her children. Elan talks about how his mother raised him in an untraditionally intelligent and artistic environment, prompting his career as a writer. He talks about Judith’s career in education at Simon Fraser University and her entrance into visual arts as the director of public programming at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Elan speaks about her time as a travelling art curator and critic, head of education at the Art Gallery of Ontario, and executive director of the Canadian Museum of Craft and Design.
Interview with Shira Blustein about her relationship with food and the food industry. Shira discusses her experiences running vegetarian restaurants, The Acorn and The Arbor, in Vancouver. She talks about the role of food in her family. Shira also discusses her participation in the punk rock music scene in Calgary and her involvement in an alternative country band, Blood Meridian. There is also conversation about raising children in a multi-faith household and Birthright.
Interview with Justine Balin as a follow up to her interview in 2017; the interview focuses on food. Justine talks about life after being on the cooking show, Chopped Canada Teen, in 2017. She discusses the role of food in her life during her years at university in Halifax, as well as her changing relationship with Judaism. Justine shares her experience being on a second cooking show, Wall of Chefs, in 2019.