Max Wyman Award

Community milestones … Labowitz, Lederman, Schwartz & Lipovetsky

Rabbi Arik Labowitz (photo from Or Shalom)

Rabbi Arik Labowitz will step forward as Or Shalom’s rabbi when Rabbi Hannah Dresner retires.

Rabbi Arik is presently serving as the congregation’s half-time assistant rabbi and has signed a two-year contract as full-time rabbi, beginning Nov. 1. Rabbi Hannah’s partnership with Rabbi Arik will facilitate a smooth transition of leadership as Or Shalom navigates renovating their building while maintaining the congregation’s vibrancy.

The synagogue has already enjoyed Rabbi Arik’s breadth of Torah learning, the depth of his davening and meditative offerings, his musicality, his sensitive pastoral manner, his delight in children, his commitment to intergenerational programming and the new enrichment he brings, focusing on the spirituality of the congregation’s Cascadian outdoors.

As Jewish Renewal’s oldest synagogue, it is meaningful that Rabbi Arik is a second-generation Renewal rabbi and that his presence ties the congregation back to the rabbis who raised and schooled him, including Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Reb Shlomo Carlebach. Born into a legacy of Jewish Renewal, with parents Rabbi Phil Labowitz and the late Rabbi Shoni Labowitz z”l, Arik’s formative years were enriched by learning from Reb Zalman and his early students during weekend retreats at his family’s South Florida home.

Eager to delve deeper into his spiritual path, Arik journeyed to Israel to immerse himself in traditional life and studies, spending transformative years at Yeshivat Machon Meir and Darche Noam/Shapells in Jerusalem from 1995 to 1997. Returning to North America, he continued his studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, embodying a commitment to a diverse and enriched understanding of Jewish tradition.

Over the past two decades, Rabbi Arik has played pivotal roles in various Jewish leadership capacities. From 2007 to 2021, he served as the spiritual leader of Congregation Eitz Or, and as a regular visiting leader for several communities along the West Coast.

Rabbi Arik, along with his wife, Aliza, and their two sons, Judah and Noah, recently relocated to Vancouver, drawn by the desire to be closer to family as well as the beauty of the water and mountains.

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photo - Marsha Lederman, winner of this year’s Max Wyman Award for Critical Writing — Marsha Lederman, winner of this year’s Max Wyman Award for Critical Writing. *(photo from Max Wyman Award)*

Arts and culture critic and commentator Marsha Lederman is the winner of this year’s Max Wyman Award for Critical Writing.

The annual award celebrates critical commentary on the visual, performing and literary arts in the province of British Columbia. The winner receives a prize of $5,000 and a gold and emerald pin designed by Vancouver artist Robert Chaplin. A mentee, named by the laureate, receives a $1,000 prize. This year’s mentee is Ming Wong, an emerging writer and illustrator.

The award was established in 2017 by philanthropist Yosef Wosk to honour the career and lifetime contributions of the Vancouver author, arts critic and commentator Max Wyman. It recognizes writers who have amassed a significant body of work. Eligible subjects of criticism include the visual arts, architecture and design, theatre, literature, dance, music, film and television, as well as more general cultural commentary.

Lederman is an award-winning journalist and author. She has been with the Globe and Mail since 2007. For 15 years, she served as its Western arts correspondent, covering visual art, theatre, music, dance, books and publishing, film and architecture. In 2022, she became a full-time columnist for the newspaper, but continues to write about arts and culture. Her memoir Kiss the Red Stairs: The Holocaust, Once Removed, was published by McClelland & Stewart in 2022. It was a national bestseller and last year won the Western Canada Jewish Book Award for biography or memoir. She has won several journalism awards, including the 2019 National Newspaper Award for Arts and Entertainment, and the inaugural Webster Award for Arts and Culture Reporting in 2023. Before joining the Globe, Lederman held a variety of positions with CBC Radio, including national arts reporter. Born and raised in Toronto, she has lived in East Vancouver since 2007.

“Marsha Lederman’s writings over the years have provided a consistent and powerful demonstration of what she has called ‘good journalism’s power to inform, guide and potentially change the world’ – precisely in line with the aims of this award, which seeks to honour informed and compelling writing that stimulates critical thinking and demonstrates the value of creative commentary in our understanding of the world around us,” said Wosk. “I am delighted that she has been chosen as this year’s laureate.”

The jury citation reads: “Marsha Lederman has made significant contributions to the field of journalism and literature through her extensive writings on social issues seen through the lens of arts and culture and social justice. The jury is unanimous in its appreciation of her ability to engage and inspire her readers, through lively and accessible writing that opens eyes and minds to fresh insights and creative thinking.”

photo - Ming Wong is this year’s mentee — Ming Wong is this year’s mentee. (photo from Max Wyman Award)

Wong is an art director, graphic designer and journalist at the Globe and Mail, where she produces and edits visually-driven stories for print, online, social and beyond. Her design work has been recognized by the Society of News Design and the Digital Publishing Awards. Born in Hong Kong and raised in Burnaby, she currently lives in Vancouver.

“I began working with Ming Wong as a mentor in 2022,” said Lederman. “She was particularly interested in writing about pop culture. And she has been fantastic, showing enormous creativity, drive and dedication as a writer. She is curious and smart, and writes interesting, intelligent and highly readable pieces about popular culture from her millennial perch. I can’t wait to read more from Ming over the years.”

Previous winners of the Wyman award are critic and educator Jerry Wasserman; Dorothy Woodend, arts editor of the Tyee; freelance art critic Robin Laurence; and author, critic and former University of British Columbia gallery director Scott Watson. Previous mentee award winners are Paloma Pacheco and Angie Rico.

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photo - Ellen Schwartz’s Galena Bay Odyssey has won a 2024 Historical Writing Award — Ellen Schwartz’s Galena Bay Odyssey has won a 2024 Historical Writing Award (photo by William Schwartz)

Galena Bay Odyssey: Reflections of a Hippie Homesteader by Ellen Schwartz (Heritage House, 2023) has received a 2024 Historical Writing Award, presented by the British Columbia Historical Federation.

On May 4, the recipients were announced and acknowledged at the BC Historical Federation annual conference and awards dinner, where author Ellen Schwartz was in attendance to receive the honour.

Galena Bay Odyssey traces Ellen’s journey from a born-and-raised Jewish urbanite from New York who was terrified of the woods to a self-determined homesteader living on a communal farm in the Kootenays. Throughout the memoir, Ellen reflects on what her homesteader experience taught her about living more fully, honestly and ecologically. (For a review, see jewishindependent.ca/a-hippie-homesteader-in-b-c.)

Schwartz is an award-winning author of more than 18 books for children. In addition to writing books, she works as a corporate writer and editor and as a freelance magazine writer. She and her husband live in Burnaby.

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The Arts Club Theatre Company has commissioned six new scripts as part of their Silver Commissions program, celebrating the company’s 60th anniversary. Founded in 2006 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the first world première of a Canadian play at the Arts Club, the Silver Commissions program is designed to foster the creation of new Canadian scripts. Through this initiative, the Arts Club has commissioned, developed and produced 20 new plays.

The 2024/25 Silver Commissions includes Beware the Glunkus: A Christmas Musical, by Ben Elliott and Jewish community member Anton Lipovetsky. The other commissions are An Enemy of the People by Colleen Murphy, Fan Tan Alley by Jovanni Sy, Florida Social by Bronwyn Carradine, Little Darling by Amy Lee Lavoie and Omari Newton, and Murder on the Pacific Spirit Express by Frances Koncan.

The story of the Glunkus is a legend that Joe’s dad used to tell him as a kid about a mischievous gnome that hates Christmas. Once a heartfelt artist, Joe now exclusively makes corporate jingles and generic reality TV soundtracks. But when Joe’s niece discovers his unproduced musical in a drawer and stages a reading with his neighbours in the living room, Joe’s distaste for the holiday spirit goes big – and he starts to transform into a Glunkus (complete with pointy ears and an elf-like voice). With the help of Bella and his dad, he must open his heart before it’s too late!

Elliott is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist living in Vancouver. When not working in the theatre, he writes, records and performs his own music, animates his own music videos and composes for film, TV and radio.

Lipovetsky is a songwriter, actor, musical director, sound designer and educator based in Vancouver. He has performed on stages nationwide and his original musicals have been shortlisted three times for a Playwrights Guild of Canada Tom Hendry Award.

Together, Elliott and Lipovetsky have written the musicals The Park (with Hannah Johnson) and The Best Laid Plans (with Vern Thiessen).

Community milestones … Wasserman & Feldman

Theatre critic, author and actor Jerry Wasserman is the winner of this year’s Max Wyman Award in Critical Writing.

photo - Jerry Wasserman — Jerry Wasserman

The annual award celebrates critical commentary on the visual, performing and literary arts in the province of British Columbia. It is intended to honour informed and compelling writing that stimulates critical thinking, fosters ongoing discussion about the role of arts and culture in contemporary society and demonstrates the value of creative commentary in our understanding of the world around us.

The winner receives a prize of $5,000 and a gold and emerald pin designed by Vancouver artist Robert Chaplin. A mentee, named by the laureate, receives a $1,000 prize. This year’s mentee is Angie Rico, an emerging writer and media artist.

The award was established in 2017 by philanthropist Yosef Wosk to honour the career and lifetime contributions of the Vancouver author, arts critic and commentator Max Wyman. It recognizes writers who have amassed a significant body of work. Eligible subjects of criticism include the visual arts, architecture and design, theatre, literature, dance, music, film and television, as well as more general cultural commentary.

Wasserman began working as a theatre critic on CBC national radio in the mid-1980s and broadcast weekly reviews on Vancouver’s The Afternoon Show from 1987 to 2003. He has since served as theatre critic for the Province and, currently, the Vancouver Sun. About 400 of his articles and reviews have appeared in those papers; since 2004, his website, vancouverplays.com, has received more than 1.6 million visits. He taught English and theatre at the University of British Columbia for more than four decades and served as head of the department of theatre and film from 2007 to 2012. His acting resumé includes stage appearances for the Arts Club, Playhouse, City Stage, Westcoast Actors, New Play Centre, United Players and Western Gold Theatre, and more than 200 film and TV appearances, from The X-Files, Look Who’s Talking and Alive to I, Robot, Watchmen and The Last of Us.

The jury citation reads: “Jerry Wasserman’s remarkable career in many ways embodies the aims of this award. His decades as a teacher and as a performer give his writing about the theatre a sympathetic and thoughtful understanding that is expressed in language that is lively, direct and deeply informed. The jury was unanimous in its appreciation of the way he has encouraged and enhanced a wider appreciation of the richness of the Vancouver arts scene and the talents of those who make that richness possible – both through his print and media reviews and through his website, which is a consistent source of information and critical context on all things theatre in Vancouver.”

Wosk commented: “Jerry Wasserman’s voice has been a steady and trusted source of information and context about the Vancouver theatre scene for decades. He treats criticism and commentary as an integral part of the cultural fabric, and sees the role of the critic not as an antagonist to the performer and creator but as a collaborator. I am delighted that he is to receive this award.”

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Brighton Feldman has been named to the U-18 Canadian National Rugby Team for a tour in the Netherlands this summer. At the school-based age group, however, team members have to pay all their own travel expenses, so Feldman has started a GoFundMe page.

photo - Brighton Feldman — Brighton Feldman

“Ever since I started playing rugby, I’ve wanted to wear the leaf on my chest,” he writes. “Now that I have that opportunity, I need a little help to get me there. I promise to work my butt off and come away with some wins. Any support is appreciated.”

Feldman is the son of Steve Feldman and Kristen Sandborn of Victoria, and grandson of Pearl Feldman of South Surrey, B.C. He is a graduate of Congregation Emanu-El Hebrew School and is completing Grade 12 at Royal Bay Secondary School in Victoria. He plays basketball and rugby for his school teams, as well as playing rugby for the WestshoreFC and, now, for Team Canada. He has previously played and captained the B.C. Bears provincial rugby team.

Next year, Feldman will be attending the University of Victoria, working towards a degree in physical and health education. At UVic, he will compete as a member of the Vikes Rugby Team.

To help Feldman represent Canada in the Netherlands, make a donation at gofundme.com/f/brighton-play-for-team-canada.

Many milestones for Wosk in 2019

Dr. Yosef Wosk, right, with Max Wyman, 2017. (photo by Fred Cawsey)

The Yosef Wosk Poetry Initiative at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, which began in 2009, marked its 10th year with a celebratory gathering of artists and poets and with the publication of a commemorative book earlier this year. In addition, the Yosef Wosk Poets’ Corner, along with the adjacent Poet Laureates Garden, was inaugurated on the newly renovated top floor of the downtown central Vancouver Public Library – it was named in recognition of Dr. Yosef Wosk’s decades-long support of the VPL.

Wosk was an early major donor to the redevelopment of the eighth and ninth floors and the roof of the central branch of VPL and was asked to serve as honourary chair of the VPL campaign in 2018/19. The architect for the renovations, as for the library itself, was Moshe Safdie, while Cornelia Hahn Oberlander designed an extensive garden to complement her roof garden that crowns the award-winning structure.

In the library world, Wosk – who has established more than 400 libraries on all seven continents over the past 20 years – was able to fund more than 50 new initiatives in 2018/19, including 20 libraries in remote Himalayan villages and 37 in Jewish communities throughout the world.

As a writer and publisher, Wosk’s work has appeared in a number of publications. Most recently, these include having curated and written the preface for Memories of Jewish Poland: The 1932 Photographs of Nachum Tim Gidal, featuring photographs by Gidal from Wosk’s and the Israel Museum’s collections (Gefen Publishing, Jerusalem and New York, 2019). He also initiated and funded a biography, written by Christopher Best, of Faye Leung, the effervescent pioneer in the Chinese and real estate communities, affectionately known as the Hat Lady (Warfleet Press, 2020).

Wosk’s essay “On the Wings of Forever” was published in the online Ormsby Review this year in collaboration with the Canadian Academy of Independent Scholars. The editor’s preface notes that: “With prose as profound and learned as it is clear and accessible, here Wosk examines and appreciates the role of museums and museum workers in the digitizing modern world. It’s not gloom ’n’ doom. Instead, he outlines what he calls ‘a stirring vision, one of innovative technology on a human scale, heart-centred and soul-sized.’”

In collaboration with the Canadian Museums Association, Wosk helped transform the President’s Award into the President’s Medal; he also commissioned the medal and wrote the introduction in the booklet that accompanies the honorific, which was first awarded in 2019.

The province-wide Max Wyman Award for Critical Writing in the Arts, which was inaugurated by Wosk in 2017, formed an alliance this year with the VIVA Awards (the Shadbolt Foundation), which will begin in 2020.

In academia, Wosk was reappointed this year as an adjunct professor in humanities at Simon Fraser University and completed four years as a Shadbolt Fellow at SFU, where he was recently named a Simons Fellow.

During the year, Wosk served on 11 boards in the Jewish and general communities in areas such as education, medical research, museums, libraries, literature, business and the arts. These boards have included the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, Schara Tzedeck Cemetery Board, CHILD Foundation, Museums Foundation of Canada and Pacific Torah Institute. He was also an ambassador for the Vancouver Sculpture Biennale and is completing a second term with the B.C. Arts Council.