Welcome to the 4th annual JQT Heritage Month!

For PART ONE of our festival, JQT Vancouver is thrilled to partner with the Peretz Centre for Secular Judaism to bring to you ARTISAN MARKET on Monday, May 15, 2023 from 6-9PM, featuring local Jewish queer trans creatives, and a special guest visiting us all the way from the UK - the one and only Stav Meishar, our JQT Artist in Residence!

Drop by, peruse the merch, nosh on complimentary food, and be mesmerized by Stav’s talk on “Oy Slay!: The History of Jewish Drag", described thus:

RuPaul's Drag Race brought drag culture to the mainstream, and with it some fierce Jewish queens like Sasha Velour and Jinkx Monsoon. But this art form has a long and diverse history going back centuries and across many cultures - as a performance practice, as personal expression, as survival, as rebellion and revolution. Going back to biblical times we will trace the feminist roots of cross-dressing in ancient texts, move through the traditions of drag queens and kings in Yiddish diaspora theatre, visit modern day gender-bending drag in prime-time TV and examine sabra drag among the LGBTQIA+ Israeli community. Expect Torah study alongside lip-sync performances, comedy sketches side-by-side with yiddishkeit, and a butt load of educational, enlightening, entertaining queer fun!

WANT TO TABLE?
?Are you a Jewish queer and/or trans artist in town? If sooooo, please fill out this Google Form by no later than May 5, and JQT will confirm via email with vendor details. There is no fee to table. If you would like to donate a portion of your proceeds to JQT, we would warmly welcome that, but it's not required! You are fully responsible for packing in and packing out, protecting your goods during the market and Stav’s talk, and collecting payment for your goods.

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 Peretz Centre is a Jewish non-profit organization dedicated to secular Jewish culture. The Peretz Centre celebrates the beautifully diverse Jewish cultural experience through education, literature, arts, music, dance, Yiddish language, and more.
www.peretz-centre.org

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! Gendered washrooms on both floors. Disabled washrooms exist within each gendered washroom. There are no single stall washrooms in the building. If you have accessibility inquiries, please email info@jqtvancouver.ca well in advance!

Transportation, entrance & parking info - The Peretz Centre is located within a 6 min walk of the Langara-49th Canada Line station. Front entrance located at 6184 Ash Street. Doors will be unlocked. Once you enter you can use the stairs on your right or the elevator to make your way to the second floor. Access to the underground parking is located behind the building from the back lane. There are 80 underground parking spaces across 2 floors available. There are access doors from each parkade floor to an elevator that will take you up to the second floor where the event will take place. Please be mindful that there is construction in the vicinity and there are some traffic disruptions. Some street parking along Ash Street is available. Please be mindful of the signage as some are restricted permit only parking. If you encounter any venue access challenges on the way, please call 604-839-2528

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?

Wednesday, May 17, 2023 @ 11AM - JQT Heritage Month 2023 - Bonus Program: “Circus Jews Under National Socialism” with Stav Meishar at the Jewish Community Centre: https://www.jqtvancouver.ca/events/jqt-heritage-month-2023-circus-jews

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-exhibit-launch