By MYRON LOVE Although she has only been in Winnipeg for five years, young Israeli-born artist Mishelle Aminov Kosonovsky has already drawn much positive attention in local art circles.
Both in 2022 and 2023, she was awarded the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba’s Mona Gray Creative Arts Scholarship toward her studies at the University of Manitoba in the Fine Arts program. 
This past spring, her work was shown alongside her fellow Fine Arts grads in an exhibit sponsored by the Winnipeg Arts Council.
Last month, she began a year-long mentorship program – under the aegis of the Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art (MAWA) collective – for budding female artists.
And, later this month, Aminov Kosonovsky will be one of seven local  Jewish artists – including Yael Freifeld, Etel Shevelev, Halley Ritter and Shan Pullan (all of whom, along with Aminov Kosonovsky,  work together under a collective called Rimon) along with longer established artist Elena El and newly emerging artist Joel Novek – featured as part of the Rady Centre’s first annual JFest celebration of Jewish culture and the arts.
“This is the second year that we are hosting an art exhibit,” notes Shira Newman, the Rady Centre’s co-ordinator of Arts and Older Adult programming.   “We did this on a smaller scale last year. This year, we are featuring more artists who have come to Winnipeg from all over the world. We have some really gifted artists in our community.”
The art exhibit – “Glowing Embers: New Works by Manitoba Jewish Artists” – will kick off with an opening reception – on Saturday, October 26, from 7:00-8:00 – in the Adult Lounge – which will be transformed into an art gallery for the duration of the exhibit.  The exhibit will be open at different times during the next few days – so check the schedule before you come.
(JFest, which runs from October 27 to November 7, will also have a musical component and a children’s program.)

Mishelle  Aminov Kosonovsky was born in Israel and grew up in Petah Tikvah. She notes that he parents were originally from Uzbekistan in central Asia.
“I speak Russian, Hebrew and English,” she says.
Aminov Kosonovsky  credits her interest in art to her zaida’s encouragement when she was quite young.   “He was a picture framer,” she recalls.   “He brought me art supplies and let me work with him on some of his projects.  He actually gathered materials for me from scraps which we repurposed to create doll houses, miniature furniture, puppets. clocks and more.”
While still in Israel, the young artist was included in a couple of group exhibits and was featured in one solo show.
Aminov Kosonovsky notes that her parents came to Winnipeg first. She followed after completing her national service, which she did by doing art therapy – as an educational assistant – at Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel in Petah Tikvah.    
On arriving in Winnipeg, she enrolled at the University of Manitoba in the Fine Arts program.   Her acceptance into the MAWA mentorship program was the next step in her evolution as an artist.
The artist-run centre was founded in 1984 to “encourage and support the intellectual and creative development of women in the visual arts by providing an ongoing forum for education and critical dialogue.”  Its Foundation Mentorship Program (FMP) is a professional training program designed to help women and gender diverse people in the visual arts develop skills and define their decision-making philosophies by providing information, resources and support. In this year-long professional training program, established artists (mentors) meet individually with their mentees for 4 hours per month to share their experience, expertise and advice. The entire FMP group meets for 3 hours each month for critiques, discussion, gallery visits and other activities.
“I am excited to have Bonnie Marin, my first professor at university here, as my mentor,” Aminov Kosonofsky notes.  “Under her guidance, I am experimenting more with collages and print making.”
As part of the upcoming JFest activities, Aminov Kosonofsky and her sister artists who comprise the Rimon Art Collective will be leading a print-making workshop – with the theme of “home” on Monday, October 28, at 7:00 P.M.
Rimon means “pomegranate” in Hebrew. The Rimon Art Collective artists are a diverse  group of young Jewish artists who “have come together for both creativity and comfort as a supportive family seeking refuge in the transformative powers of art and community”.
“Yael (Freifeld), Shan (Pullan) and I formed Rimon about 10 months ago,” Aminov Kosonovsky reports.  “We met at university. We had come to realize that the art world is not accepting of Jewish artists and that there was  a need to create an environment where we could comfortably talk about our artistic vision with others who understand our perspective.”
Last spring, the Collective was featured in a group exhibition – under the theme of Kabbalat Shalom – at the Pembina Hills Arts Council building in  Morden.
“We hope to have more shows in the future,”  Aminov Kosonovsky notes.
She has also developed an interest in fibre art.  “Fibre art, with its emphasis on sensory motion activities, is particularly helpful in working with people dealing with trauma,” she notes.
In addition to her work as an artist, Aminov Kosonovsky is also working toward a degree in Art Therapy – building on her experiences in Israel.  She is currently enrolled in a two-year online program at Kutenai College in Nelson, B.C.
 
 A few months ago, Aminov Kosonofsky and her Israeli-born fiancé Vladimir –whom she met at university – moved to a rural property in the community of Lorette, outside of Winnipeg. 
“I have always loved the outdoors,” she says.  “I enjoy taking long walks in the field. “I also like horses.  In Israel, I was involved in show jumping competitions.  I hope to one day have a horse here as well.”