Karen Pe’er is a visual artist. She recently installed the exhibition Carried Forward at the Gallery at the J and was involved in the Miles Nadal JCC’s Mizrahi Voices: Art, Words & Music by Yemeni Jewish Women event. We asked her about the inspiration for the project, what Jewish joy means to her, and her thoughts on baba ghanoush.

Kultura Collective: Hi Karen! Can you please tell us a bit about you and your artistic practice?

Karen Pe’er: So, my name is Karen and I’m from Winnipeg. My dad was Yemeni and my mother is Polish. When I was 21 I moved to Israel and really connected to the Yemenite side of my family and embraced my heritage. After I became a mother I moved back to Canada to be closer to my own mother. I was always artistic and wanted to become an artist when I was younger, but was told an artist wasn’t a ‘real job’. It was only during COVID when I was colouring with my kids that my son exclaimed ‘wow mom, you’re such a good drawer! You should be an artist!’ I almost repeated the same line that was told to me, but stopped myself as I didn’t want to dim his light. I took that as a sign and bought a sketchbook and a pencil and started sketching for the first time since high school. Shortly after I moved to Toronto with my children and transferred to OCAD to really give this artist thing my full effort. A month and a half after moving to Toronto October 7th happened. Going to University in a post-October 7th world is where I went from being an artist trying to find my voice to a Jewish artist sharing my voice and speaking my truth. I have since narrowed my focus on telling my family’s story through my art, of my Yemenite heritage and telling part of the Jewish history that is not widely known.

KC: Your work is on view for the month of November at the Miles Nadal JCC in the exhibition “Carried Forward.” Can you tell us more about the inspiration for the show?

KP: Yes! And it has been extended until January 4th as well! This show really brings together all my favourite works that speak to my Yemenite heritage. It started with works from my previous show ‘Forgotten Traditions’ which was created to honour my late aunt who passed in Israel. She was the last living family member who was born in Yemen. It was with her passing that I realized it was now up to me to tell our story, for my family and for my children. I realized that if I didn’t tell it, no one would and in a quick 2 generations, Yemeni Jews would be forgotten. I wanted my kids to know that being Yemeni is more than eating Jachnun and Malawach. That’s its about a beautiful, rich culture that has been around for over 2 millenia.

KC: What does the title choice signify?

KP: I wanted this to be a follow-up to a previous exhibition of mine, Forgotten Traditions, to reclaim those forgotten traditions and honour them. To show how today’s generation and future generations can carry them forward.

KC: What can visitors expect to see?

KP: In the exhibition, you can see many of my acrylic-monoprints which is a favourite technique of mine. This method allows me to transfer my drawings onto a gelli-plate, where I then reverse paint the image. I do not know what it’s going to look like until the very end when I pull up the paper and that makes it a very exciting process. You will also see paintings on wooden tondo’s (the circles) inspired by Yemeni torah cases. The largest piece in the exhibit is an ode to Operation Magic Carpet, which airlifted almost the entire Jewish Yemeni population to Israel. In Yemen, Jewish women had to wear a specific scarf in public called a Lahfe to mark themselves as a Jew. They took a leap of faith, boarded an airplane, which many of them had never seen before and were transferred to villages of tents where they would live for years. Be regarded as a primitive community and suffer many hardships, including the Yemenite Children Affair. But even in all this hardship, they no longer were required to wear the Lahfe, as there was no need to mark themselves as Jews in the Jewish homeland. And this was the beginning for the Yemeni Jewish woman, to be more than just a wife and a mother, and to decide her own future.

KC: Can you tell us how you bring your Jewish identity to your project(s)? What sparked the interest in creating this work?

KP: Honestly, if you would’ve asked me before October 7th if I would become a Jewish artist making Contemporary Judaica I would’ve thought you were crazy. But after October 7th, in a downtown University, in a world where my children and I were getting criticized on our identity and that alone. Creating Jewish-inspired work started as healing for me, I wanted to create things that made me feel better, that made me happy, that reminded me of home and the good times. Pomegranates, hamsa’s, magen David, holiday-inspired colours. Suddenly, I found myself with a LOT of work, I gave some away to friends, and the loved it and it just blossomed from there.

KC: It’s been a busy month for you! You were part of the event “Mizrahi Voices: Art, Words & Music by Yemeni Jewish Women” in early November. Can you tell us a bit more about the event? What did you take away from it?

KP: It’s been a whirlwind! That event was so special, and came together through a few chats on Instagram. Ayelet and I joked that we should manifest an event where we could honour our Yemeni heritage with Erez and less than a year later there we were! Erez and I actually only met Ayelet in real life a few hours before the event itself. The reactions we received from the attendees were so heartwarming. People continued to thank us for sharing our stories, our families and our traditions. That there were similarities between their own heritage and background, or even if they weren’t Yemeni or Mizrahi how it reminded them how important it was to remember where their family came from. It made me feel so welcomed and embraced. And we have been asked more than once to take the show on the road which is just an unbelievable ask when you think about it and how it all started!

KC: A few weeks later, you spoke on the panel “Jewish Joy” as part of the Jewish Futures 2025 Arts and Culture Salon. What does Jewish joy mean to you? What did you take away from the day?

KP: Really, I was still on the high of the success from our Mizrahi Voices event so it was so easy to speak about Jewish Joy! What Jewish Joy really comes down to is resilience, not letting others take our power and to take our happiness. Jewish Joy is about showing up each day and living life to the fullest no matter what hardships come our way, are happening down the street or half-way across the globe. It’s the Jewish way and that is something that will never change. It is something to be proud of and to be celebrated – and with celebration comes Joy!

KC: How has your work connected you more deeply with others who share similar experiences?

KP: When I moved to Toronto 2 years ago I thought the only Yemeni’s here were me and my sisters. Then I met Erez last year at the Jewish Futures event, and then I had my first Yemeni inspired solo exhibition. From that body of work I kept meeting people who had a Yemeni neighbour, a Yemeni spouse, or their cousin was married to a Yemeni, etc. and we would get connected. Suddenly I now know over 30 Yemenis in the GTA. And the best part was that we all thought we were alone here. Many of them were able to meet each other at the Mizrahi Voices event. Being able to witness the hugs, the tears, the laughs between this mini community that was created really made it all worth while.

KC: What else are you working on right now?

KP: Right now, I have a few fun merch ideas launching for Chanukah, but after that, I am working on a larger-scale body of work about my mixed heritage and what that meant growing up in Canada. While the Yemeni/Polish mix is a beautiful one, it came with challenges, and this body of work will address both the good and the bad.

KC: What other (Jewish) creatives should we know about?

KP: I am inspired by:

• Ari’el Stachel, he created a one-man show about the exact same Yemeni experience growing up in America and it was so amazing for me to witness. It was the first time I had really felt seen and understood in a public setting. He was also able to connect to a wider audience, not just the Yemeni one.
• Alex Woz, is probobally my favourite Jewish creative right now. I love his style – and i love his message. There is a lot of hate and blame going on in our community right now, and there isn’t enough understanding and art making.

KC: Lightning round!

Hummus vs baba ghanoush? Baba, no question

Tel Aviv or Jerusalem? TLV ya Habibi TLV

Menorah vs Hanukkiah? Hanukkiah

Zaatar vs Harissa? Za’atar

Purim vs Passover? Passover

Karen Pe’er (she/her) is a Toronto-based visual artist, mother, and recent graduate from OCAD University. Her work is deeply rooted in her cultural heritage and her experiences as a member of the Jewish diaspora. Pe’er’s practice explores the complexities of home, displacement, and identity. She confronts the painful legacies of her ancestry, delving into the personal and collective history of the Yemenite Jewish community. By acknowledging the difficult truths, she reclaims these narratives, honours the resilience of her people, and brings their stories out of silence, preserving cultural memory and ensuring these stories continue to evolve across generations.

Website: artbykarenpeer.ca     IG: @art_by_karenpeer

Carried Forward by Toronto-based artist Karen Pe’er reflects on Yemenite Jewish traditions, transforming memory, loss, and heritage into living acts of resilience and continuity. Through intricate works inspired by her father’s community, Pe’er explores what it means to inherit a culture shaped by displacement yet kept alive through remembrance and reinvention. Each piece is an act of preservation and renewal, ensuring that ancestral stories continue to be carried forward. On view from November 1, 2025 to January 4, 2026. https://www.mnjcc.org/arts-culture/gallery

The Gallery at the J is a welcoming lounge and exhibition space at the Miles Nadal JCC where art, ideas, and community meet. Featuring rotating displays of work from and about our community, the gallery celebrates creativity, dialogue, and inclusion. It’s a brave space for sharing diverse perspectives and sparking meaningful conversation. Visitors are invited to take a seat, stay awhile, and reflect — discovering how art can inspire connection and a deeper sense of belonging.