Welcome to the 4th annual JQT Heritage Month!

As a bonus program added to our festival, JQT Vancouver is delighted to collaborate with the JCC Adult Program and the Goethe-Institut Toronto to bring Stav Meishar’s one-hour talk on “Circus Jews Under National Socialism” on Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 11AM PDT in the Wosk Auditorium at the JCC!

Stav Meishar, a circus artist and academic, has spent the last decade extensively researching the histories of Jewish circus families in Germany before and during the Nazi regime. Tracing their legacies back to the golden age of circus, this talk charts their successes, their tours and their specialty acts, and reveals their fates as the Nazi party rose to power. Telling these stories with sensitivity and humor, the talk includes photos from family albums, recorded testimonies, and personal stories.

This historic talk is woven with excerpts from Stav's show "The Escape Act: A Holocaust Memoir", which is based on one of the stories she researched — that of Irene Danner-Storm, a Jewish acrobat whose family survived the Holocaust hiding in a German circus, offering insight into the process of transforming historical research into performance.

This is a free in-person event.

WHO ARE WE?

Stav Meishar (she/they) is an award-winning performance maker, interdisciplinary stage artist, researcher and educator. Their work seeks to intersect history and current affairs by mixing together tools from the worlds of theatre, circus, and contemporary performance, exploring the power of art as a narrative and investigative tool for inciting change. Stav has presented her talks in academic conferences, festivals, museums, synagogues and institutions worldwide, such as the Leo Baeck Institute (NY), Manchester Jewish Museum (UK), University of Sheffield (UK), and Paideia – The European Institute for Jewish Studies (Sweden).
www.stavmeishar.com

JQT Vancouver is a volunteer-run Jewish Queer and Trans arts, cultural and educational non-profit dedicated to queering Jewish space and ‘Jewifying’ queer space.
www.jqtvancouver.ca

The JCC Adult Program is led by a registered social worker who is a JQT supporter and member of the JQT Seniors Initiative. The JCC Adult Program offers a variety of programs which create social connections by providing meaningful opportunities to learn, play and make friends in a safe and inclusive manner. The objective is to support aging in place, regardless of abilities or barriers to participation. JCC membership is not needed to participate in any Adult Program, and free or subsidized registrations are available so all can enjoy. Learn more about the JCC’s journey towards LGBTQ inclusion in the BC Jewish Queer & Trans Seniors Resource Guide.
www.jccgv.com/adults

The Goethe-Institut is the globally active cultural institute of Germany. We promote cultural exchange, education and social discourse through our international network and support the teaching and learning of German.
goethe.de/toronto

MORE EVENT INFO

Covid policy - JQT strictly follows the recommendations of Vancouver Coastal Health and makes decisions accordingly. Mask wearing is optional, but encouraged in group settings and to protect those in our circles who are immunocompromised.

Accessibility info - All are welcome to attend this event whether they be 2SLGBTQIA+, Jewish, Jew-ISH, Jew-curious or friends! This event will take place in the Wosk Auditorium at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver located at 950 W. 41st Ave, near the corner of Oak St. The JCC building is accessible for those with assistive devices or mobility concerns. Within JCC are two non-gendered accessible bathrooms on the main floor, and an additional non-gendered accessible bathroom on the second floor with elevator access. If you need accessibility assistance, please email info@jqtvancouver.ca well in advance!

Transportation, entrance & parking - The JCC is accessible by bus and a few blocks west of Canada Line sky train (Oakridge-41st station). Public cannot enter without an access badge or indicating destination inside by using the buzzer to call front desk staff. Security may inquire what event you are attending to access the building. Parking is a first-come, paid parking, surface lot adjacent to the building, or free street parking in the surrounding neighbourhood.

Our work takes place on the traditional and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sə̓lílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.

WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING DURING JQT HERITAGE MONTH 2023?

Monday, May 15, 2023 @ 6-9PM - JQT Heritage Month 2023 - Artisan Market featuring “Oy Slay! The History of Jewish Drag” with Stav Meishar at the Peretz Centre: https://www.jqtvancouver.ca/events/jqt-heritage-month-2023-artisan-market

Sunday, May 28, 2023 @ 1-3PM - JQT Heritage Month 2023 - Exhibit Launch of The BC Jewish Queer & Trans Oral History Project in the Zack Art Gallery at the Jewish Community Centre: https://www.jqtvancouver.ca/events/jqt-heritage-month-2023-circus-jews