Silhouettes of Survival is in partnership with Jewish Immigrant Aid Services and the Ontario Jewish Archives Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre. This project is generously supported by UJA’s Kultura Collective project grant.

The installation honours the multifaceted experience of Jewish refugees. This complex experience includes Jewish people who attempted to emigrate from Europe during the onset of Nazi persecution, those who came to Canada as internees, and Holocaust survivors who immigrated to Toronto after the Second World War.

Through layered paintings composed of archival photographs, documents, and personal letters, the installation traces the journey from displacement to renewal. Each panel reveals a different aspect of the immigration experience. This immersive work invites reflection and discovery with every viewing and offers bigger understandings of the immigrant journey with a universal message of finding belonging.

Silhouettes of Survival focuses on the experiences of immigrants coming to Canada from Central Europe after the devastation of the Second World War. The courageous histories found within the Ontario Jewish Archives Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre provide a rich foundation from which to tell this important story. Each panel focuses on a specific aspect: initial immigration, settling into their new environments, establishing roots and celebrating with generations to follow. The layers within each painting include photographs and documents to weave a story that highlights these individuals’ courage, perseverance and hope.

The first of the four panels focuses on the story of immigrating to a new country in the hopes of starting life anew. A prewar photo of two young German girls is juxtaposed alongside immigration identification cards and an envelope addressed to survivors in a displaced persons camp. The next panel continues this journey of settling in Canada, notably Toronto: these new arrivals settle in their new homes and begin building community. An image from Congregation Habonim, a wedding photo from 1968 and store signage showcase their lives taking root.

Each panel is a chapter of this story of survival. Communities continue to grow and notable neighbourhoods like the Bathurst Manor reflect the contributions of these immigrant families within its schools, shops, synagogues, and community centres. The final panel celebrates the future generations that emerged and continue to thrive.  A mother and son share a memorable moment and a great grandson writes a sweet note to his great Zadie. The final layer of each painting has a different image from individual family archives that mirrors the specific theme of that panel as each provides a rich Silhouette of Survival.

Viewers can read through the layers and each time they visit the artwork uncover a new aspect of the narrative. The ultimate purpose of this artwork is 3-fold: to honor those who lived these histories, to bind the generation who grew up with these legacies, and to continue to impart them on those who follow.