My Jewish Identity Self-Portrait Event
Join us for a unique journey of self-expression and discovery at the event. Explore the They Didn’t Know We Were Seeds exhibition with TBT Gallery co-curator Jennifer Eiserman. Then participate in art sessions that encourage you to delve into your connection to Judaism. Using various artistic media, you’ll create a self-portrait that captures your personal identity.
Choose from multiple sessions:
Young Adults/Families: Saturday, November 2
RSVP Adults: Wednesday, November 20 at 7 pm in the Library
RSVP Parents & Youth: Friday, November 29 at 1 pm in the Library
Your artwork may be featured in a special exhibition of the self-portraits created in December.
Embrace this opportunity to reflect, create, and share your story!
TBT Gallery Show
Works by Carol Wylie
On Display until March, 2025
view an interview with the artist
Past TBT Gallery Presentations
Works by Lisa Thomson
May 25, 2024 – August 30, 2024
Works by Lilly Rosenberg
January 28, 2024 – April 30, 2024
Works by Sandy Blass
October 8, 2023 – January 2, 2024
Works by Carole Bondaroff and Milt Fischbein
July 1 – September 26
View the interview with Carole Bondaroff View the interview with Milt Fischbein
“In the Shelter of Trees”: Felted works by Marilyn Samuels
April 1 – June 21
Opening Reception:
April 9, 2023 | 4:00 – 6:00 pm | Kosher Refreshments for Passover
About “In the Shelter of Trees”
Trees provide homes and protection for birds and forest animals and nurture a new life, as I have tried to depict in Redwoods Fern Garden and West Coast Rainforest. Trees stabilize the slopes of mountains, clean the air we breathe and play a critical role in the planet’s ecosystem. I feel blessed to live among trees, to have hiked in west coast rain forests and the Rocky Mountains, to have planted trees in my garden and to depict them in my work. Hence, the theme for this exhibition is In the Shelter of Trees. Felting is the process of agitating raw wool with soap and water so that the wool fibres adhere to each other and shrink. I can “paint” with wool by using many colours of wool and other fibres.
About Marilyn Samuels
I am a Calgary-based artist who grew up in Vancouver. My work has been heavily influenced by the forests and ocean on the West Coast and by the Rocky Mountains near my current home. I make fibre art to capture the beauty of the natural world. I have been making art and doing needlework most of my life, but I began to study art and make art quilts formally toward the end of my academic career as a psychologist. I have taken art courses at Cornell University, the University of Calgary and Alberta University of the Arts. In addition, I have studied with many fibre artists, including Susan Carlson, Anna Hergert, Lura Schwarz Smith, Pat Sparks and Fiona Duthie.
“From Strength to Strength: Works by Emerging Artists Lauren Jacobson, Orianne Aviv and Jules Schacter
February 6 – March 25
The photographic, sculptural and painted works explore themes of what gives something its function (Jacobson), being present to experience (Aviv) and how art functions in our daily lives (Schacter).
The exhibition is available Monday through Thursday, 8:30 am – 4:00 pm, Fridays, 8:30 am – 2:30 pm, and Saturdays during services, 10:30 am – 1:00 pm. You may also contact one of the artists to make an appointment.
Contact:
Lauren Jacobson – jacobson.e.lauren@gmail.com
Orianne Aviv – orianne.aviv@ucalgary.ca
Jules Schacter – jules.schacter1@ucalgary.ca
“LEAP of FAITH”: Works by Alan Briks
December 1 – January 27, 2023
Briks states, “If biblical Abraham, Noah and David were artists, they would tell you to trust the process, go with your instincts and take some risks.”
Leap of Faith features landscape, figural and abstract works by artist/art therapist Alan Briks trusting his instincts and taking that leap of faith. Drawing on his background as a stained glass artist, Briks fills his pieces with colour and light.
Visit TBT Gallery to warm your spirit and lighten your mood during these early winter months.
“Coming Home” by Sarah Bing
September 18 – November 6, 2022
As a new year begins, TBT Gallery welcomes the change in seasons with an art exhibit by artist Sarah Bing. The show, entitled “Coming Home” invites the viewer to contemplate colour and form that brings them “home to themselves.”
Multiple Artists Exhibition
Eight Jewish artists from Calgary share their explorations of colour through paintings, prints and mixed media works about the natural and spiritual worlds in which we live. These artists’ works enliven our imaginations in the same way that the summer sun animates the world around us.
Visit TBT Gallery to view works by:
- Sarah Bing
- Alan Birks
- Carol Bondaroff
- Yehudit Chayil
- Vivian Herman
- Lily Rosenberg
- Lisa Freedman Thomson
- Char Vanderhorst
“Reconstruction” by Vivian Herman
May 20, 27 and June 6, 2022
Watch an interview with Vivian Herman
“Reconstructing” is a series of 15 works by artist Vivian Herman. The concept is particularly apt given that we are all building a new reality as the pandemic shifts. Emerging from isolation, we can relate to this experience of “newly becoming.”
“I was delighted to know that things would be coming back to life. Given the opportunity to do something with Temple is a great way to show off the process. Especially the last two years I’ve been doing my artwork, but wondering how I will show it,” said Vivian. She feels the pandemic became a good time for creativity. “My work has not changed in the main, but definitely there has been impact. One of my most recent pieces is called “Holding On” reflecting this crazy time of lockdowns.”
Her working process includes deconstructing the pieces she has created and then bringing them back together in an altered way. The works are made from one large piece and then cut up. She sometimes goes back to older pieces and retrieves elements from them to add to the finished assembly. She rotates them, reshuffles them and sees what works to her eye. It is a combination of collage and mixed media, using paint, fabric or pen, even added after the work is assembled. Each piece consists of 12 individual small rectangles all held together on a backing to form one complete work. “Sometimes I have an idea I want to bring forward, a scene or a landscape, and other times I say ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do but I’m going to begin. I try not to overthink it. It’s sometimes easier to see what comes as I start to explore.”
She is always drawn to some kind of imagery, as she tries to keep the work loose to achieve spontaneity. Image based work is something she latches onto, for the viewer as well. Not overly message based, she wants to create joy for the viewer, as she experiences joy in creating the work. The pieces are effective on a number of levels: on the grand scale of viewing the panels overall, as well as the micro level as one comes up close and examines the intricate aspects. This introduces the element of time, as one has to experience the piece in more than a quick “walk by.” Curator Jennifer Eiserman expressed, “Cultures evolve and grow through their art forms. The arts help us to explore who we are, what we believe, what we value, and where we want to be. By bringing the work of Calgary and area’s Jewish artists to Temple B’nai Tikvah, we provide a space for our Jewish community to build our identity.”
About TBT Gallery
In this time of cautious emergence from the shadow of the pandemic, a new initiative is born at Temple B’nai Tikvah in Calgary. The last few years have seen a retreat from public engagement in all aspects of social life, especially the communal enjoyment of the arts. The Temple is taking this opportunity to open an art gallery that will become a showcase for local Jewish artists. Using the public spaces of the Temple, the art will provide an explosion of colour and texture for those transitioning through the environment.
The “TBT Gallery” will be a home for a revolving series of art installations, with each show appearing for several months before a new exhibit appears.
Rabbi Mark Glickman of the Temple commented, “I am so excited about the TBT Gallery! Not only will it help to beautify the public spaces at our wonderful synagogue, but, more profoundly, it will allow our congregation yet another way of honouring the great Jewish tradition of creating art. Ever since biblical times, Jews have put their passion and energy into creating beautiful things. This new gallery at our temple will allow us to see how our community is continuing to do just that”.
The art shows that will evolve throughout the gallery will underscore the rich and diverse life that is part of Temple B’nai Tikvah culture. From social action, environmental issues and book clubs, the Temple creates a vibrant place to participate in the depth of Jewish life. Membership Chair Peter Driftmier commented, “the TBT Gallery will not only beautify the Temple public spaces, and show Temple support for the arts, but bring in non-members to view the exhibit and attend events associated with an opening, such as an artist talk as well as senior and youth engagement.”