She Also Served
Jewish Canadian Servicewomen in the Second World War
ART EXHIBITION
During the Second World War 17,000 Jews enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces, proudly serving their country despite Canada’s “none is too many” Jewish immigration policy. Of these 17,000, over 250 were women. To highlight the contributions of these Jewish servicewomen, and to counter the lack of public awareness of their participation in the Second World War, this online exhibition presents nine original two-dimensional artworks inspired by the stories of these Jewish women.
Artists include: Razieh Alba, Sophia Borowska, Alysa-Beth Engel, Anne Petrie, Lily Rosenberg, Talie Shalmon, Jules Schacter, Bev Tosh and Susan Turner.
The representations exploring the servicewomen’s experiences range from naturalistic to abstract. Some works use archival photographs, while other media include oil painting, digital prints, and paper cutting.
These artworks are currently on display at The Military Museums, Calgary, during Canadian Jewish Heritage Month, May 2022. The opening event for the exhibition was held on May 8 at 2 pm at The Military Museums. It was live-streamed and a recording will be made available shortly.
The exhibition is curated by Jennifer Eiserman, Associate Professor, Department of Art and Art History and Saundra Lipton, Librarian Emerita, University of Calgary.
For further information on Jewish women in the Canadian military forces of the Second World War consult the See Also Serves website
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Much appreciation to Dick Averns, Canadian Forces Artist and Curatorial Coordinator, Founders' Gallery, The Military Museums; David Bercuson, Professor, History Department, University of Calgary; Helen Clarke, freelance editor; Rory Cory, Senior Curator/ Director of Collections, The Military Museums; Hesam Rezaei, MFA student (site designer) for all their support and advice in bringing this exhibition to fruition. We also thank the nine artists for their participation in creating this tribute to the Jewish servicewomen.
This exhibition has been made possible through an "Energizing Arts" grant from the Faculty of Arts, University of Calgary.