Local News
Young Israeli-born artist Mishelle Aminov Kosonovsky thriving in new community
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.”
Local News
Winnipegger featured in Apple commercial highlighting new adaptive technology
By MYRON LOVE The year just past has been a memorable one for Melissa Shapiro. In recent weeks she and her boyfriend moved into their new home in East Kildonan and – in September, the daughter of Cory and Goldelyn Shapiro – was one of the featured guests at Apple Headquarters in Las Vegas for the premiere of an advertisement – produced by the tech company – highlighting Apple’s newly developed adaptive technology.
“I was flown out to California by Apple’s PR team,” recalls the 26-year-old policy analyst with the Education and Early Childhood Learning Department. “The event was held at Apple Park. It was really exciting seeing all the newest products and features.”
Shapiro, who was born missing her left arm, came to the attention of Apple as a result of Instagram videos she made demonstrating her ability to work out as an adaptive athlete. Last May, Shapiro reviewed the Apple watch’s accessibility features in a video, and it caught Apple’s attention.
“I was contacted by a casting agency in July,” she reports. “Next thing I know, we are filming in Toronto in August. I was the only Canadian involved in filming the commercial.”
Shapiro has never let her disability define her life- thanks in part both to her parents and the War Amps of Canada Child Amputee program, which reached out to her family three weeks after she was born.
“We received a lot of support – financial, recreational and emotional – from the War Amps,” she says. “Through the program, my family was able to connect with other families with similar challenges.
As well, the War Amps helped me to integrate in school and participate in sports while I was growing up by providing me with different prosthetics paid for by donations to the program.
Over the years, Shapiro ha been able to give back to the non-profit organization by appearing in War Amps public service spots highlighting such tips as playing safe in order to avoid accidents that could result in amputations. She has also been featured n War Amps-organized seminars and media appearances promoting the work of the War Amps in helping to improve the quality of life for children like Shapiro who were born missing a limb or those who lost limbs due to an accident.
“I still enjoy doing ‘playsafe’ presentations and public events for the war Amps,” she says.
Readers who may be interested in supporting this worthwhile program can donate by phone (1800 250-3030) or go online (waramps.ca).
Local News
Jewish community members among King Charles III Coronation Medal Recipients
By MYRON LOVE In stating that she was “honoured by the recognition, beyond grateful and truly humbled to receive the King Charles III coronation medal,” Carrie Shenkarow is no doubt sharing the sentiments felt by her fellow honourees. The next president of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg – her term begins next year – was one of 55 recipients of the award – including several members of our Jewish community – who were presented with the medallions by Lieutenant-Governor Anita Neville on October 24 at the Legislature .
“It was an honour to be in the room with so many remarkable Manitobans,” notes Shenkarow.
She reports that, after the photo was taken, the honourees were invited back to Government House for a reception. “The Lieutenant-Governor spoke and we were encouraged to mingle with other recipients,” she recalls. “It was an incredible evening that I will never forget.”
The medal – which commemorates Charles III’s coronation on May 6, 2023, is described on the website as “a way to recognize outstanding individuals from all ages and from all walks of life who have made a difference in our community.”
The award recognizes those “who have made a significant contribution to Canada, a province, territory, region, or community in Canada, or have made an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada”.
The other six members of our Jewish community who among the medal recipients include several individuals some who have made outsized contributions to society overall. Included among the medal recipients were Larry Vickar and Gail Asper, whose contributions both to our Jewish community and the overall community are well known.
Other recipients of the KIng Charles medal also have established records of service to the community: Harvey Secter has an impressive history of community leadership. The former businessman who – in his 40s – turned to a career in law, has served as both Dean of Law and then Chancellor of the University of Manitoba. His resumé further includes leadership roles with such diverse institutions as the United Way, St. Boniface Hospital Foundation, the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, the Law Society and Manitoba Law Foundation, several hospital boards, Assiniboine Park Conservancy, the University of Winnipeg, and the University of Manitoba.
In the blurb accompanying the King Charle III medal presentation, it was noted that Harvey Secter “has been recognized for a decades long commitment to organizations dedicated to increasing access to quality services in education, health care, social services, and recreational facilities while motivating others to engage in building an inclusive and welcoming society.”
The other three Jewish medal recipients’ contributions to society have been more narrowly focused. Michel Aziza has been most closely associated with Operation Ezra, a successful effort led by several members of our Jewish community some years back to bring members fo the persecuted Iraqi minority Yazidi community to Winnipeg and help them settle here in the aftermath of the attempted genocide of the community at the hands of the murderous ISIS terrorists in 2014.
Over the past year, Aziza and his wife, Danita, along with Einat Paz, have been organizing weekly rallies on Kenaston and Grant (by the Superstore) aimed at keeping alive the awareness of the Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas and other terrorists in Gaza.
Medal recipient Louis Trepel has focused much of his philanthropic work on the Manitoba chapter of Variety, The Children’s Charity – of which he was one of the founding members while still in his teens. Over the years, Trepel, whose family owned Ben Moss Jewellers ((Lewis’s grandfather), has – in addition to Variety – contributed to numerous other nonprofit boards and committees. Among the highlights of his philanthropic career have been co-creating the first Empty Bowls Gala for Manitoba Harvest, pioneering the first COVID-era virtual gala in Manitoba for St. Boniface Hospital Foundation, and co-chairing the 50th Anniversary Gala for Manitoba’s Rainbow Resource Centre, which garnered national attention.
According to the write-up accompanying the medal presentation, Louis Trepel’s “lasting legacy is his ongoing mentorship and inspiration of the next generation of philanthropists.”
Noam Gonick was recognized for his work as an artist and filmmaker. He has premiered and won awards at the Venice, Berlin, Sundance and Hot Docs film festivals. His features, which explore rave culture and Indigenous youth, were released theatrically in Germany, France, the US and Canada, streamed worldwide and collected by the Museum of Modern Art and the National Gallery of Canada. He has directed for MGM, CBC and APTN. At London’s Serpentine Gallery Gonick lectured on his artwork about the semaphore of prison architecture and Queer utopias. He is currently collaborating with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet on “The Regulation of Desire” for the Canadian Museum of Human Rights.
Circling back to Carrie Shenkarow, she notes that she became involved with the Jewish Federation over 20 years ago. In recent years, she has held several positions on various committees. In 2022, she chaired the CJA campaign. She currently chairs the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg’s Public Affairs Task Force, established after October 7, 2023, to advocate for the community and collaborate with other local organizations.
“One of the things I’m most passionate about is March of the Living,” she says. “I have been chairing the committee since 2017. I chaperoned the program in 2018. I really enjoy giving back.”
The Lieutenant Governor was not the only official allowed to nominate deserving recipients for the King Charles Medal. Members of Parliament were also encouraged to put forth nominees. A further four member of our Jewish community were thus nominated by Marty Morantz, Conservative MP for Charleswood-St. James: Einat Paz, Jessica Cogan, and brothers Robert and Sandy Shindleman from Shindico.
The medal was presented to the two commercial real estate professionals in their office in December. “We were honoured to have received the medals,” says Robert, who reports that the brothers are major supporters of the Health Sciences Centre Foundation and Alzheimers research – a condition that afflicted their mother for many years.
Morantz presented King Charles III medals to Cogan and Paz in his office on November 14. “I am proud to present Einat Paz and Jessica Cogan with the King Charles III Coronation Medal today,” he wrote n his Facebook page. “Their dedication and contributions have truly enriched our community, and it’s a privilege to congratulate them on this well-deserved recognition.”
For Paz, it was her second major honour in two months. At our community’s annual Kavod evening – on September 26 – the Israeli-born social worker who is currently the Jewish Child and Family Service’s Manager of Volunteer Services became the inaugural recipient of the Federation’s new Magen David Award. She was recognized in particular for her leadership in helping – along with Michel and Danita Aziza – to organize and co-ordinate the weekly vigils – now in their 11th month – on Kenaston by the Superstore – in support of the Israeli hostages in Gaza. She has also been prominent in fostering ties between Israelis in Winnipeg and the local community.
“I am deeply honoured to receive the King Charles Medal for my community work advocating for the release of hostages and raising awareness that the rape of women is never resistance,” Paz said. “There is no justification.
“This recognition also highlights the vital importance of food security for the Jewish community, a cause close to my heart.
“I remain committed to these efforts, striving to bring justice, dignity, and support to those in need.”
Local News
Karina Gould – vying to be next leader of the Federal Liberals, has a Jewish father – and her parents met on a kibbutz!
By BERNIE BELLAN In January 2018 I conducted an interview with the late Jim Carr who, at the time, was Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources. I asked Carr whether there were any other Jewish members of the Cabinet?
Carr said that Karina Gould, who was the Minister of Democratic Institutions in 2018, had a Jewish father. I didn’t know much about Gould back then, beyond recognizing her name, but the recent announcement that she has decided to enter the Liberal leadership race might be of particular interest to Jewish readers.
Gould has held a number of portfolios within the Trudeau government, most recently as House leader.
Now 35, while Gould’s entry into the Liberal leadership race would be considered something of a long shot, her relative youth – along with her experience (she has been a Member of Parliament since 2015), might make her a plausible alternative to the two more prominent candidates in the race: Chrystia Freeland and Mark Carney.
With Gould’s decision to enter the race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, I thought it might be interesting to explore her Jewish roots.
In a 2021 article on the CJN website, the following was written about Karina Gould:
Gould, the member for Burlington, was first elected in 2015. She has previously served as Minister of International Development and Minister of Democratic Institutions.
Jewish on her father’s side, Gould told The CJN in 2015 that while she’s not “an active practitioner of Judaism,” she maintains her heritage through celebrating Hanukkah, Purim, and Yom Kippur.
Her paternal grandparents were Holocaust survivors from Czechoslovakia. Her grandfather was deported to Theresienstadt, then to Dachau and Auschwitz. Separated during the war, her paternal grandparents were reunited afterward.
Her father met her mother, who is from Germany, while both were in Israel volunteering on Kibbutz Naot, where the sandals are made.
Gould visited Israel on a Birthright trip and stayed longer for a personal visit. “Israel is a beautiful country,” she said. “It’s unique in the world. It has difficult challenges.”
She said she believes her family heritage plays a big role in shaping her political values.
“My family was accepted and welcomed into Canada after a difficult experience,” she said. “Canadian values of tolerance and diversity were not just important for my family, but for others. Canada provided the opportunity to grow and to thrive.”
Gould was front and centre during the 2019 visit to Canada of then Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.
She noted to Rivlin that since the free trade agreement between Canada and Israel was signed in 1997, the value of two-way trade had tripled, to $1.9 billion.
And under the Canada-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation, the two countries have funded close to 60 projects over the last dozen years, she added.
Ties between Canada and Israel “are long, deep and mutually beneficial,” she said.