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Tamar Ilana

Migration

by Tamar Ilana
March 3 to 23, 2024

Jamii warmly welcomes you to a month-long celebration of art and cultural exploration led by the talented artist Tamar Ilana. Under Tamar's guidance, we delve into the captivating theme of Migration through the expressive mediums of Flamenco and Sephardic music and dance with a focus on Mediterranean cultural migration. 

  

Reflecting on the upcoming program, Jamii's Alchemist Isorine Marc shares her personal connection to the theme: 

  

"The theme of Migration is very close to my heart. As a migrant myself, who has found a new home in The Esplanade, far away from my original home, "migration" has many layers. We all have a connection to "migration" through our own journey, our family's story and history, and our people's placement or displacement.” 

  

From lead artist Tamar Ilana: "The artistic goal of this month of programming is to demonstrate and teach different aspects of Flamenco, Sephardic and Mediterranean cultures. I chose films I grew up watching, songs and dances I’ve learned over many years, and I’m bringing my mother to deepen the experience for people. I also am bringing musicians and crafters to demonstrate what this culture sounds, looks and feels like.” 

  

The question is, what does migration mean to you? The invitation we extend to you is an exploration of this question through Tamar's eyes. With her guidance, you'll have the opportunity to participate in Flamenco dance workshops, where you can immerse yourself in this style of dance that is itself the result of intercultural crossing. Additionally, you can delve into Talavera Tiles making workshops, which originated in Spain through Muslim migration. Join Tamar and the wonderful team of artists leading these engaging activities throughout April. Enrich your journey with artistic experiences that will fill your heart with reflections on your own path, whether it be from here to there or from there to here.

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Monday Dancing

Workshop Lead: Tamar Ilana

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Wednesday Watching

Lead: Tamar Ilana

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Saturday Mingling

Lead Artist: Tamar Ilana

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Tuesday Learning

Book Club

Lead: Judith Cohen

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Thursday Creating

Painting Night

Workshop Lead: Julian Periquet

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Sunday Sewing

Workshop Lead: Anita Boey

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Tuesday Learning

Niche Artistic Practices

Workshop Lead: Jaash Singh

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Thursday Creating

Crafting Nights

Workshop Lead: Alejandra Higuera

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Sunday Versifying

Workshop Lead: Patrick de Belen

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Tuesday Learning

Culture Cloths

Designer: Sabrine S. Hakam

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Friday Singing

Workshop Lead: Judith Cohen

Photos by Mariana Hernandez, Ghader Bsmar, Jae Yang, Iris Unlu, Karen Lam, Afnan Yakot, Shaimaa Yakout

TAMAR ILANA


Tamar Ilana is a Jewish-Indigenous multilingual singer and flamenco dancer. Tamar's music and fierce talent reflect her life growing up in multicultural Toronto; accompanying her ethnomusicologist mother, on village fieldwork expeditions and on stage as a child; and living in Ibiza, Barcelona, Paris and Seville. Tamar is a renowned flamenco dancer and multilingual singer, and in 2011 she founded her flamenco/global roots project, Ventanas. Together they have released three albums, been nominated for four Canadian Folk Music Awards including Best Traditional Singer, and toured Canada, US and Colombia. They are currently working on their 4th album and will be embarking on their first European tour in October 2023. Tamar has collaborated with such renowned artists as Jesse Cook, Measha Brueggergosman, Anna Colóm (Rosalía), Manu Soto, Jim Creeggan (Barenaked Ladies), Suba Sankaran, Meesha Shafi, and Margaret Atwood. Tamar has also been featured in award-winning international musicals in New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, the UK and Germany. Tamar Ilana is the Executive and Artistic Director of FabCollab, a performing arts organization based in Toronto, Canada. Tamar was one of the first Toronto-based artists to pivot to live-streaming during the COVID-19 pandemic, successfully making the transition to online as a presenter and performer. In August 2020 she co-founded FabCollab in order to continue this work, and, with FabCollab, has since created numerous programmes and presented over 200 IBPOC womxn and minority artists at iconic Toronto sold out venues, live streaming to audiences of 40,000+ in partnership with the National Arts Centre, Lula Lounge, Koerner Hall, Small World Music and the Aga Khan Museum and the Royal Ontario Museum.

Photo by Cassandra Popescu

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