Join actors David Sklar and Ilana Zackon as they schmooze with creative Jews of all disciplines, taking you behind the scenes of what matters most to Canada's Jewish arts community—and why our cultural representation matters.
Jewish artists have been ostracized since Oct. 7. Will it lead to a renaissance of Jewish art?
Earlier this month, 18 Canadian theatre companies—including the world's largest queer theatre company, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, based in Toronto—joined a cultural and academic boycott of Israel, in solidarity with Gaza. It was just the latest evolution in a trend that has been particularly noteworthy since Oct. 7, 2023, when the North American arts community turned sharply against pro-Israel and Jewish artists in all fields, noteably theatre, film, literature, poetry.
The progression has led us here. After years of isolation, there is more hunger than ever for proudly Jewish art, with calls for increased Jewish arts grants and community support. Here to echo those calls are two Jewish artists who have experienced these struggles in the last two years: Shaina Silver-Baird is a writer, actor and the creator of the TV series Less Than Kosher, and Hal Niedzviecki was the editor of Broken Pencil, Canada's magazine covering independent zine culture, which he abruptly closed after facing backlash from progressive activists to denounce Israel.
In this series finale of Culturally Jewish, The CJN's podcast covering Canadian Jewish artists, hosts Ilana Zackon and David Sklar sit down for a frank conversation and take stock of the last two years—while also expressing hopes for the future.
Credits
Hosts: Ilana Zackon and David Sklar
Producer: Michael Fraiman
Music: Sarah Segal-Lazar (https://www.sarahsl.com/)
Support The CJN
Subscribe to The CJN newsletter (https://thecjn.ca/newsletters/)
Donate to The CJN (https://thecjn.ca/donate/) (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
Subscribe to Culturally Jewish (https://thecjn.ca/culture) (Not sure how? Click here (https://thecjn.ca/arts/podcast-how-to/))
27 Jan 2025
Daniel Pelton transformed Holocaust tattoos into orchestral jazz. This is what it sounds like
Daniel Pelton hadn't felt much of a musical connection to his Jewish heritage before Oct. 7. But after reality changed for Jews around the world—including his hometown of Calgary—Pelton decided to learn more about both the Holocaust and its artistic representations. He read The Tattooist of Auschwitz, which inspired him to adapt the tattoo numbers used in the book—34902-32407—into musical notes, using their 12-tone counterparts.
The result evolved into a 11-minute epic, which Pelton supplemented with two other tracks to create a new trio of songs (https://thedanielpeltoncollective.bandcamp.com/album/violins-of-hope), released on Jan. 27 for the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. To record the three works, Pelton teamed up with Calgary's National Music Centre and successfully applied for a grant to record with the "Violins of Hope", authentic violins once owned by Holocaust victims and survivors.
Hear all the three works and learn how he embarked on this journey on this week's episode of Culturally Jewish, The CJN's podcast spotlighting Canadian Jewish artists.
Credits
Hosts: Ilana Zackon and David Sklar
Producer: Michael Fraiman
Music: Sarah Segal-Lazar (https://www.sarahsl.com/)
Support The CJN
Subscribe to The CJN newsletter (https://thecjn.ca/newsletters/)
Donate to The CJN (https://thecjn.ca/donate/) (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
Subscribe to Culturally Jewish (https://thecjn.ca/culture) (Not sure how? Click here (https://thecjn.ca/arts/podcast-how-to/))
14 Jan 2025
See the world through the eyes of an autistic poet in a new exhibit by Adam Wolfond and Estée Klar
When Adam Wolfond was in his primary school years, the public education system wasn't giving him the support he needed as a nonverbal autistic student. So his mother, Estée Klar, along with other educators and allies, created their own kind of classroom, where neurodivergent kids could feel more free to learn in their own ways, pacing around the room or sitting in bean bag chairs. For Wolfond, using a text-to-speech device, he was finally able to respond in full sentences at his own pace—and discover his own poetic voice.
This month, he is debuting an art exhibition at the Koffler Arts Centre in Toronto, "What If My Body is a Beacon for the World? (https://kofflerarts.org/Exhibitions/Gallery/Gallery-Exhibitions/What-if-My-Body-is-a-Beacon-for-the-World)", running from Jan. 9-26. The exhibit includes video installations and projections, along with bean bag chairs and sticks laying around the ground, which are central to Wolfond's way of living and communicating.
Wolfond and Klar join Culturally Jewish, The CJN's arts podcast, to describe their artwork and journey to get here.
Credits
Hosts: Ilana Zackon and David Sklar
Producer: Michael Fraiman
Music: Sarah Segal-Lazar (https://www.sarahsl.com/)
Support The CJN
Subscribe to The CJN newsletter (https://thecjn.ca/newsletters/)
Donate to The CJN (https://thecjn.ca/donate/) (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
Subscribe to Culturally Jewish (https://thecjn.ca/culture) (Not sure how? Click here (https://thecjn.ca/arts/podcast-how-to/))
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Spotify
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Contact Culturally Jewish
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Culturally Jewish?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
