Koffler In Conversation: Artist Linda Dayan Frimer on working with Holocaust Survivors and their Children

1-2pm

Linda Dayan Frimer is the granddaughter of Canadian Pioneers who fled the cultural oppression in Eastern Europe in the early 1900s, settling in Prince George, British Columbia. Their son, Jack Spaner, brought his new bride from Toronto back to British Columbia’s interior after the Second World War, where he opened a dry goods store and mined for gold. Frimer was born in the wilderness town of Wells, near Barkerville, famous for its gold rush. As a young child, she overheard stories of the persecution of her European ancestors. Though she did not understand the context, the content was hurtful and left her wanting to restore the dignity of her People.

After graduating from the Emily Carr School of Art and Design, Frimer developed an artistic career making work that address­es ques­tions of cul­ture, mem­o­ry, trau­ma, and rev­er­ence for nature. She is the recipient of many awards for her work, including “Woman of Valour” from Jewish Women International and an Honorary Doctorate for her work in championing both Culture and Nature through art.

Frimer engages in conversation with Josh Heuman, the Koffler Gallery’s Interim Head of Public Engagement, about her upbringing and artistic career, and focuses on The Gesher Holocaust Project, a multidisciplinary and intergenerational project that employed creative approaches and discussion to explore the impacts of Holocaust trauma and connection across generations.

Following the conversation, copies of Frimer’s book Luminous: An artist’s story as a guide to radical creativity (Granville Island Publishing, 2022) -- a finalist for the 2023 Cindy Roadburg Memorial Price for Memoir/Biography from the Western Canada Jewish Book Awards -- will be available for purchase (cash and personal cheque; hardcover $62.95 / softcover $47.20; prices include HST).