Jewish Futures 2026
Arts + Culture Salon
November 15, 2026
A networking and learning event for Jewish artists and cultural workers
at the Miles Nadal JCC in downtown Toronto.
A conference for Toronto’s artists and cultural workers exploring the future of Jewish cultural and artistic life.
The Jewish Futures Arts and Culture Salon returns for its fourth year! Join us downtown at the Miles Nadal JCC.
What future do we want to create together? How can the past and presentation of memory help to inform our present? How do we share our stories to guide our futures?
Considering the current moment, this event will give Jewish artists and cultural professionals a way to come together to learn, share and connect.
The program will emphasize networking, communal learning, and the exploration of Jewish and artistic identity and practices, providing the foundation for building resilience and leadership for Toronto’s Jewish cultural community. The day will include conversations with specialists and local artists, community-building workshops and activities, a showcase of Toronto’s Jewish arts organizations, and facilitated conversations about artistic and Jewish identity.
Who is this event for?
Speakers will represent the spectrum of Toronto’s cultural scene, including visual arts, theatre, film, music, dance, writing, curatorial, arts administration, museums, and heritage.
This event is for Jewish artists, creatives, and cultural workers, or those who produce cultural content with Jewish spaces. This event is also for culture vultures, arts supporters and patrons. Not sure if this event is for you? Please get in touch with us at info@kulturacollective.com
Presented by
Programming Supporters
Promotional Partners
In Kind Supporters
Keynote Presentation
Dr. Analucía Lopezrevoredo
Dr. Analucía Lopezrevoredo is a sociologist, explorer, and mixed-media storyteller whose work examines Jewish life across borders, cultures, and generations. As Founder and CEO of Jewtina y Co., she bridges scholarship, artistry, and community practice through research, photography, oral histories, and storytelling.
A recent Fulbright Scholar in Toronto, her research explored Latin American Jewish migration to Canada and the formation of transnational identities and belonging. Born in Peru and raised between cultures, Analucía is drawn to the intersections of migration and memory, tradition and reinvention, and the local and global forces shaping Jewish peoplehood today.
start the day with
Tracey Erin Smith
Tracey Erin Smith is an internationally recognized performer, creator, teacher, and founder of SOULO™ Theatre. A pioneer in solo performance and transformational storytelling, her work has been presented across North America, Europe, and Israel.
She is the host and creator of the acclaimed documentary television series DRAG HEALS (OUTtv, Amazon Prime, Apple TV), recipient of multiple Canadian Screen Award nominations and a Telly Award. Her award-winning career includes Broadway World Awards in New York City and Montreal, Best of the Fringe honours in both Toronto and New York, and two Diamond First Place Awards for Best Theatre Instructor from The Toronto Star.
Tracey is also the best-selling author of Flying SOULO and co-steward of Birchdale, an off-grid retreat in Southwest Nova Scotia, where she leads SOULO™ Intensives and develops new work. She is currently directing a documentary about Toronto’s iconic United Bakers Dairy Restaurant.
Featured Panelists, Workshop Leaders, and Guests
We are excited to welcome a group of artists, cultural producers, and educators for a series of conversations and workshops.
Esther Arbeid
Nino Biniashvili
Hershel Blatt
Danila Botha
Leo Brown
Bernice Eisenstein
Michael Fraiman
Anders Gatten
Noah Gano
Yoni Goldstein
Josh Heuman
Jacqueline Kott-Wolle
Sam Mogelonsky
Karen Pe'er
Hanna Schacter
Adam Sol
Alyssa Stokvis-Hauer
Alisha Kaplan Savatti
Eyal Stopnicki
Jessica Thalmann
Sara Yacobi-Harris
Orly Zebak
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register + join us on November 15, 2026
Your ticket includes access to all conversations and workshops, as well as kosher refreshments and lunch.
The event runs from 10 AM to 5 PM. Tickets are $36 each.
If you require a subsidy to join the event, please email us.
Event Schedule
Schedule, events and rooms subject to change.
Start of Day
Registration
Lobby / Aerobics Studio
Time: 10:00 AM
Collect your nametag and swag bag.
Grab a light breakfast and mingle with fellow creatives.
Welcome Workshop
Al Green theatre
Time: 10:30 AM
A warm, lively opening that invites you to arrive fully, connect with others, and create the trust and energy that will carry us through an amazing day together.
Opening remarks: Sam Mogelonsky and Esther Arbeid
Workshop: Tracey Erin Smith
First Sessions
Option A
Storyteller Workshop
Room: 206
Time: 11:45 AM
A hands-on workshop where you’ll uncover the heart of a meaningful personal experience and transform it into a compelling story told with clarity, confidence, and authenticity.
Facilitated by Tracey Erin Smith
Option B
Drawing on Memory
Room: Chapel
Time: 11:45 AM
In this moderated panel discussion we will hear from artists who create illustrations and/or graphic novels inspired by the past and memory.
Featuring: Bernice Eisenstein, Danila Botha, Nino Biniashvili
Option C
Nu to the Scene
Room: 318
Time: 11:45 AM
A round table discussion with arts leaders who have created new organizations and projects to support Jewish artists.
Featuring: Karen Pe’er, Noah Gano, Orly Zebak, Eyal Stopnciki, Leo Brown
Moderated by Analucía Lopezrevoredo
Option D
Collage: Weaving & Braiding
Room: 218
Time: 11:45 AM
In this hands-on collage workshop, participants will explore visionary Jewish futures through paper weaving, braiding, cutting, and layering. Using images, colours, text, and pattern, we will consider what we carry forward from the past and what new possibilities we hope to create. Each participant will make a woven and braided paper collage that brings together personal memory, collective history, tradition, and imagination. No previous art experience is required.
Facilitated by Jessica Thalmann
Option E
Head Shot Studio
Room: 317
Time: 11:45 AM
Need a professional headshot for an application or your artist website? Drop in for an express headshot shoot (approx. 5 minutes each) in our creative pop-up studio with Shay Markowitz Photography.
First come, first served. Available from 11:30 AM to 5:00 PM A download link will be sent to all participants following the event.
Lunch Break
Lunch
Room: Al Green Theatre
Time: 12:45 PM
Fuel up and chat with new connections. Enjoy a catered lunch with fellow Salon partcipants.
Second Sessions
Option A
Jewish Infusions
Room: 206
Time: 2:00 PM
A moderated panel discussion with artists who bring Jewish stories into secular spaces and non-Jewish spaces.
Featuring: Hershel Blatt, Jacqueline Kott-Wolle
Moderated by Yoni Goldstein
Option B
The Making of Nabatele
Room: Chapel
Time: 2:00 PM
A curatorial conversation and presentation about the Montreal Jewish Museum’s project Nabatele, a large-scale open-air installation by London-based artist and architect Anna Kamyshan, at the Venice Biennial 2026. Co-presented by the Montreal Jewish Museum and Koffler Arts.
Featuring: Alyssa Stokvis-Hauer in conversation with Josh Heuman
Option C
The Pitch Workshop
Room: 318
Time: 2:00 PM
A “Dragon’s Den” style workshop where participants can present project ideas and receive supportive feedback from experienced programmers and producers in the field.
Participants can present a short elevator pitch . The audience will vote on the best pitch of the afternoon!
Featuring: Tracey Erin Smith, Michael Fraiman, Hanna Schacter, Anders Gatten
Facilitated by Esther Arbeid
Option D
Poetry Workshop
Room: 218
Time: 2:00 PM
Read and write poetry together! (Full description to come)
Facilitated by Adam Sol and Alisha Kaplan Savatti
Option E
Head Shot Studio
Room: 317
Time: 2:00 PM
Need a professional headshot for an application or your artist website? Drop in for an express headshot shoot (approx. 5 minutes each) in our creative pop-up studio with Shay Markowitz Photography.
First come, first served. Available from 11:30 AM to 5:00 PM A download link will be sent to all participants following the event.
Keynote and Wrap
Keynote Presentation
Room: Al Green Theatre
Time: 3:15 PM
A conversation exploring Latin-Jewish arts and storytelling through the lenses of realismo mágico and Joaquín Torres García’s América Invertida, asking what becomes possible when we reorient whose perspectives shape Jewish culture and imagination. Drawing from her work as a sociologist, photographer, and storyteller, Analucía will explore storytelling not simply as documentation, but as a way to reclaim overlooked histories, empower communities to author their own narratives, and imagine new possibilities for Jewish life.
Featuring: a presentation by Analucía Lopezrevoredo and a conversation moderated by Sara Yacobi-Harris
Closing remarks: Sam Mogelonsky
End of Day Schmooze
Room: Aerobics Studio
Time: 4:15 PM
Let’s celebrate the fourth Jewish Futures! Nosh and mingle with the group and reflect on what you learned during the day.
This is an opportunity to network, exchange that final business card, swap Instagram handles, and end the day with a sweet treat.
Recap from the 2025 event
Jewish Futures 2025. Photos by Shay Markowitz.
FAQ's
The Miles Nadal JCC is located at 750 Spadina Avenue on the corner of Bloor and Spadina.
This event is for Jewish artists, creatives, and cultural workers, or those who produce cultural content with Jewish spaces.
Participants will represent the spectrum of Toronto’s cultural scene, including visual arts, theatre, film, music, dance, writing, curatorial, arts administration, museums, and heritage.
Not sure if this event is for you? Please get in touch with us at info@kulturacollective.com
Tickets for the Jewish Futures event on November 15, 2026 are $36 each.
If you require a subsidy to join the event, please email us at info@kulturacollective.com
We will be holding this event entirely in person. It will not be recorded or live streamed.
Yes, there will be security at the event. When you enter the Miles Nadal JCC, you will be asked your reason for visiting and to show your ID as well as your ticket for the event.
Security monitors the JCC and will be on site all day.
The taxi can drop you off at the main entrance on Spadina Avenue, just south of Bloor Street.
There is a Green P parking lot at 35 Spadina Road, or street parking.
The closest TTC subway station is Spadina which services both Lines 1 and 2, and the 510 streetcar, as well as buses.
Yes, all refreshments and dinner will be provided by a kosher catering company. We will have vegan and vegetarian options available. Please let us know any dietary needs upon registration.
Yes. The Miles Nadal JCC is wheelchair accessible.
When you register for the event, please note any accessibility needs and we will do our best to accommodate you.
No. We are unable to provide childcare during the event.
In 2023 we convened over 100 artists and cultural professionals for the first iteration of the “Jewish Futures: Arts and Culture Salon” at the Prosserman JCC and Toronto Holocaust Museum.
The first event of its kind in Toronto, this day was created for Toronto’s Jewish artists and cultural workers to come together to learn, connect, share, and explore Jewish artistic life.
We are excited to hold the conference for a fourth time downtown, with the 2026 version at the Miles Nadal JCC.
The focus of the programming frames the Jewish future through the lens of artists, inspired by the keynote lecture at the 2023 Salon by theatre producer and rabbi, Kendell Pinkney.
Yes. If you cannot attend the full day, you can join for a part of the program. However, we cannot offer a discounted ticket price and encourage you to attend for the full day for the best experience.
No, we cannot offer a tax receipt for event tickets.
If you no longer wish to attend the event, please contact info@kulturacollective.com for a refund.
If you are interested in supporting the event, please email Sam Mogelonsky, Director of Arts and Culture at UJA Federation of Greater Toronto at smogelonsky@ujafed.org
We are grateful to our partners and supporters.
UJA will be filming and/or taking photos of you and/or your dependent(s) during this event. Through this content, we hope to promote UJA’s fundraising campaigns, which will ultimately help us help those in need. By purchasing tickets, you give UJA the absolute right to and/or permission to publish your photo or video in the following manners:
- On UJA websites, affiliated sites, and blogs
- On UJA-owned and managed social media websites and social media ads
- In UJA produced video
- In UJA printed materials and advertisements
You understand that UJA will own all rights, including the copyright to any photos and videos. You hereby waive any right that you may have to inspect and/or approve the finished product that may be used in connection therewith, or the use to which it may be applied.
Following the event, a short feedback survey will be sent to registered participants by UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.
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Get in touch with us
Not sure if this event is for you? Have a question about the program? Do you require a subsidy to attend? Please send us a note below or get in touch with us at info@kulturacollective.com