Occupations

32 Archival description results for Occupations

Jeff Kushner

Interview with Jeff Kushner for On The Record: The BC Jewish Queer & Trans Oral History Project in collaboration with JQT Vancouver. Interviewed by Carmel Tanaka via remote Zoom video call. Jeff (he/him) is a gay Jewish man, born in Winnipeg and residing in Victoria, B.C. with his partner, Randall. Jeff talks about his parents’ lives as children of immigrants in Winnipeg, telling poignant stories of his family members and their influences on his life growing up. Jeff talks about coming out at the age of 30 and how Jewish culture of family and achievement makes a lot of queer Jews come out later as to not disappoint expectations. Jeff talks about the accepting nature of the Jewish community and Victoria of LGBTQ people, which was different from growing up in Winnipeg. Jeff talks about his education, including becoming an engineer out of the University of Manitoba which led him to a career in Alberta’s oil industry. He tells stories of working for different Canadian oil corporations and the experiences he had being a gay Jewish man throughout, which included experiences of antisemitism and homophobia. He closes by talking about finding the dream home in Victoria, where him and his partner both retired early, and he continues to participate in Jewish organizations as a way to build a legacy based on tikkun olam. This includes how he wishes to work on projects for gay and/or Jewish seniors to have old folks’ homes free of prejudice or having to return to ‘the closet’ in old age.

Ron Appleton

Oral History Interview with Ronald (Ron) Appleton, accompanied by his wife Brenda Appleton for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Carol Herbert. Ron Appleton was born in Vancouver and describes his youth working with his father who was an auctioneer and arts dealer. This experience introduced him to Inuit art which became the focus of his life’s work showing and selling works of Indigenous artists in his family-owned and operated galleries. Ron and Brenda describe the relationships they formed with Indigenous artists but also many art collectors, especially Jewish diaspora, around the world. Ron shares anecdotes related to prominent Canadian artists, as well as unique art pieces he’s seen across the decades in the business.

Marcia Pitch

Oral Interview with Marcia Pitch for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Carol Herbert. Marcia discusses her upbringing in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and her parents and grandparents’ origins in Eastern Europe and immigration to Canada. Marcia mentions influences that led her to the arts, including education at the University of Manitoba and doing graduate work in California. In 1969, Marcia experienced the police suppression in response to the People’s Park Revolution in Berkeley. Soon after she returned to Vancouver where she studied education at UBC and volunteered with Amnesty International. She pursued an art style that reflected her strong feelings about politics, war, and the influences of her grandparents’ stories of Eastern European pogroms. Marcia's art includes mixed media collages and sculptures, and producing large scale installations for her gallery exhibitions. Marcia speaks about her upcoming project focusing on sexuality, women’s repression and feminism. She further explains her perspective as an older woman in the art world and the differing responses she has received regarding her art online vs. in person. Marcia relates experiences such as having children, volunteering, and being a part of the recycling community to how they’ve inspired her pieces or participation in the arts community.

Susy Naylor

Oral Interview with Susy Naylor for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Helen Aqua. Susy was born in Brooklyn in 1943 and talks about her family history in the city and abroad, as well as her immigration to Canada as an adult. She talks about her education including two nursing degrees which led her to teach nursing upon moving to Winnipeg. Wanting to transition to counselling, Susy moved to Coquitlam and commuted to school in Washington which eventually enabled her to open a private practice. Susy describes her challenges doing art from home as a middle-aged mother and how her outlook on her artistic ability changed as she did more workshops and gained mentorship, albeit still experiencing impostor syndrome. Susy discusses how her paintings don’t truly have stories, but are ambiguous and she loves to hear the interpretations of the viewers. Susy also discusses how participating in a Leonard Cohen themed art show made her realize her difficulties visualizing imagery in her head when she had an idea, helping to clarify her artistic process. She talks about her involvement in galleries and art crawls, and teaching classes to others who question if they can be an artist.

Janis Diner-Brinley

Oral Interview with Janis Diner-Brinley for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Brynn Gillies. Janis briefly describes her family history in Eastern Europe and Canada, and tells us of her immediate family. She discusses how she was immersed in artistic environments from a young age including parents who enjoyed the arts at home, and taking art classes as young as 6 years old. Janis recalls being the only girl to learn welding in school for her sculpture projects and working with the Winnipeg Art Gallery. She talks about how she uses traditional mediums like watercolours to convey messages about environment and landscape change, and how she learned to work with and teach watercolours to others. Janis talks about how her move from Winnipeg to Vancouver to Victoria challenged her, as the colour palettes and landscapes were not the same as those she usually painted. She talks about art classes, and what brought her into teaching high school, but also feats of curating exhibitions and starting the Jewish Film Festival in Vancouver. Janis also talks about participating in Judaism themed exhibits at her synagogue, her interest in archaeology, and the power of observation.

Cynthia Ramsay

Oral Interview with Cynthia Ramsay for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Daniella Givon. Cynthia was born in Moncton, NB but spent most of her time growing up in Winnipeg. She talks about her family history, including her father’s second marriage to a Jewish woman allowing her the choice of converting to Judaism. She speaks about her Jewish education and embracing Jewish family and traditions, as well secular education including degrees in economics. Cynthia talks about her early career at an economic think tank and career at the Jewish Western Bulletin. Cynthia describes coming to own the JWB with her colleagues and changes the publication went through moving it beyond a solely right wing paper. She speaks about her marriage and how she met her wife. Cynthia talks about how she first joined the Scribe as editor and how she began producing the Scribe editions thematically. Cynthia discusses how working on the Scribes fostered a deeper connection to the Jewish community in Vancouver, but also provided insight into prominent Jewish families and businesses in BC, and how their impacts persisted into the present day.

Ricky Vernon

Interview with Ricky Vernon. Interviewed by Debby Freiman for The Scribe, 2018. Ricky's family ran This Is It, which was a restaurant and two drive-thrus in Vancouver.

Eppy Rappaport

Interview with Efrem (Eppy) Rappaport. Interviewed by Debby Freiman for The Scribe, 2018. Eppy talks about the foods he ate growing up, and how he came to own the original Omnitsky Kosher in Winnipeg before opening more stores in Vancouver. He compares the Jewish and non-Jewish clientele in Vancouver to Winnipeg and discusses the difficulties of operating a kosher deli.

Mark Winrob

Interview with Mark Winrob. Interviewed by Debby Freiman for The Scribe, 2018. Mark talks about his family's history, his childhood and career, and his extensive travels around the world. He introduced tapas to Vancouver through his restaurant, Las Tapas. Later on, Mark opened Fatso’s Barbecue and Smoke House and Smoking Crust later on. He describes each restaurant and reflects upon the changing food scene in Vancouver.

Mark James

Interview with Mark James. Interviewed by Alysa Routtenberg for The Scribe, 2018. Mark describes the role food played in his childhood, Vancouver's changing food scene, and his own transition from the clothing business to food. He talks about the restaurants and brewpubs he opened in Vancouver, including FIASCO, Flying Beaver, Yaletown Brewing Co., and Red Truck.

Results 1 to 10 of 32