Mandate & History
Mandate
The Ashkenaz Foundation is a community-based non-profit organization dedicated to fostering an increased awareness of Yiddish and Jewish culture through the arts. Through its biennial festival and an expanding slate of year-round programming, Ashkenaz showcases the work of leading contemporary artists from Canada and around the world working in music, film, theatre, dance, literature, craft, and visual arts. Ashkenaz places an equal emphasis on the need for preservation and innovation within this cultural milieu. The Foundation incorporates in its mandate and programming many other manifestations of pan-Jewish music and art beyond Klezmer/Yiddish, including an expanding commitment to the art and culture of Sephardic, Ladino, and Mizrahi Jews. Ashkenaz also actively pursues fusion and cross-cultural exchange with artists from outside Jewish cultural traditions through commissioned work and special projects. Ashkenaz places a strong emphasis on local and emerging talent, as well as on education and community outreach. Ashkenaz forges partnerships with other entities and like-minded organizations in areas of overlapping interest or cause.
Background and History
The Ashkenaz Festival is the largest Jewish cultural event in Canada, and among the largest events of its kind internationally. The Festival takes place biennially at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre and satellite locations throughout Toronto. Each edition of this multidisciplinary event showcases approximately 50-75 acts from Canada and around the world, including 200+ artists and performers working in music, theatre, dance, film, literature, craft, and visual arts. The Festival draws a diverse, multicultural audience of over 50,000 people.
The inaugural Ashkenaz Festival took place in July 1995, under the direction of founders David Buchbinder and Bruce Rosensweet. Emerging out of a worldwide revival of Klezmer music and Yiddish culture, Ashkenaz quickly became one of the most prestigious events of its kind, making Toronto a key centre in the international Klezmer/Yiddish scene. Three successful festivals took place under the original management team (1995, 1997, 1999), supported by founding Board Chair Rosalie Sharp. Three more Festivals took place under the Artistic Direction of Mitch Smolkin (2002, 2004, 2006), working with such co-producers as Marc Glassman, Judy Wolfe, and Gordie Wolfe, and Board Chairs Heather Hoffman (2001-2004) and Judy Wolfe (2004-2007).
In fall 2006 Ashkenaz installed the third management team in its history, with Executive Director Karen Tisch and Artistic Director Eric Stein at the helm. In 2007, the Foundation elected Ellen Wexler as its new Board Chair. In the spring of 2007 the new management team launched the first full season of non-festival Ashkenaz concerts and events in Toronto, presenting eight successful productions from April 2007 to February 2008. The season culminated with a spectacular gala concert featuring the legendary singer/actor Theodore Bikel.
The 7th Ashkenaz Festival took place in August 2008 and was by many accounts the most successful yet. Over 90 performances, featuring over 200 artists from around the world, thrilled Toronto audiences for a full week at Harbourfront Centre and other venues across Toronto. The 13th anniversary “Bar Mitzvah” edition of the festival featured North American debut performances from Ukraine’s Konsonans Retro, Argentina’s Zully Goldfarb, and Russia’s Nayekhovichi, along with soul-stirring performances from such leading American Jewish-roots fusion artists Abraham Inc., Pharaoh’s Daughter, Andy Statman, and Joshua Nelson, and wide array of leading Canadian artists. The 2008 Ashkenaz Festival featured more diversity and cross-cultural team-ups than ever before, including an entire programming thread devoted to Sephardic Jewish music culture. Since the 2008 Festival, Ashkenaz has continued presenting one-off concert events in the Toronto area, with seven diverse performances between December 2008 and August 2009.
