“Pride is the Mood” seeks to encapsulate and celebrate queer Jewish experiences and art.

Enjoy the view! 

Featuring work from  (clockwise) Cliel Shdaimah, Or Har-Gil, Jess Nora, Rachel Epstein and Sadie Epstein-Fine, Toby King. 

RACHEL EPSTEIN

AND

SADIE EPSTEIN–FINE

An excerpt from Rachel Epstein and Sadie Epstein-Fine’s workshop Queering Jewish/Queering Family that took place on May 16, 2021 as part of Miles Nadal JCC’s Tikkun Leil Shavuot Virtual Jewish Learning Festival. The mother daughter duo explore their collective and individual relationship to Jewishness and queerness.

CLIEL SHDAIMAH

This collage is a response to a midrash about God’s diminishing of the moon (Chullin 60a-b) which is a response to the confusing creation of the sun and the moon in the Torah (Breishit 1:16-18). Within this art piece is a celebration of the Moon’s brave, defiant words, and a space for further critique and creativity within these stories.

TOBY KING

I am not a Jew who is queer or a queer who is Jewish. I am a queer-Jew. The hyphen isn’t going anywhere.

JESS NORA

The Non Binary Image of God בצלם אלהים. and Rugelach, the dog.

OR HAR–GIL

Collage art is part of how I make sense of my inner world. I created this collage as a way to explore and integrate my queer identity, which I came into in my 30s. Using pictures of myself at different ages, I collaged in a circle to represent wholeness. When I look at this image, I feel so much tenderness and compassion for my sweet child selves who weren’t able to fully be who they were. This image is my way of honouring the fullness of my identity and the journey of becoming even more ME.

The brown craft piece at the top centre of the circle reads “In the beginning moves to the end and the end goes on to begin again.” While the brown craft piece of paper bottom centre of the circle reads “The one at the end is the one who begins and the breath of breaths is within all things.”

Header and feature mood boards designed by Orly Zebak. Queer Jewish expressions gracing the board  courtesy of the artists listed above.