PHOTO: Avia Moore
Evelyn Tauben
Evelyn Tauben is a curator, producer and writer based in Toronto and originally from Montreal. She is a leader in the field of contemporary Jewish art and culture with 20 years of experience in museums, galleries and arts organizations including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Renwick Gallery, the National Museum of American History, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Koffler Centre of the Arts. In her capacity at the Koffler, Tauben oversaw the Koffler Gallery where she curated the exhibition, Spin Off: Contemporary Art Circling the Mandala (2011). She also curated exhibitions featuring the photography of Andrew Moore (New York), Zion Ozeri (Israel) and D.R. Cowles (Montreal). Tauben’s range of curatorial experience includes developing exhibitions for non-traditional and multi-use spaces. In 2016, she launched the artist-run window gallery, FENTSTER, which featured site-specific installations connected to the Jewish experience, extending her deep interest in democratizing art and animating the urban landscape with contemporary art. Providing a window onto Jewish life through art, FENTSTER’s work is now moving beyond the window gallery space - catalyzing critical conversations through exhibitions, programs, gatherings, and other initiatives, such as SHVILIM, furthering a commitment to creating a world free from oppression and to telling diverse stories connected to the Jewish experience. She is also regularly orchestrating unique convening spaces for Jewish artists including PRISM for Jewish artists and creatives of Colour and Gatherings in Difficult Times.
In addition to producing exhibitions, theatre, world-music concerts, literary events and cultural conversations featuring Canadian artists and internationally acclaimed luminaries, Tauben has curated content for festivals including the Ashkenaz Festival (Toronto), KlezKanada (Queen) and Le Mood (Montreal). She has presented at conferences in Poland, New York, Montreal, Indianapolis, Toronto, and England. She is devoted to sparking nuanced conversations through art on the vital issues of our day. Currently, she is also the Project Director of SHVILIM.
Tauben’s writing has been published in the award-winning book Graphic Details (McFarland, 2014), The Forward, AJS Perspectives magazine, and The Canadian Jewish News where she contributed a regular arts column. In 2015, she completed a writing residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. In the summer of 2012, Tauben participated in the Handshouse Studio Synagogue Recreation Project in South-Eastern Poland. She is featured in the celebrated full-length documentary film about that project, Raise the Roof (Trillium Studios), which premiered in Warsaw in October 2014.
In 2018, Tauben was a Fellow in the Toronto Arts Council’s Leaders Lab for arts professionals, presented together with the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. She also completed a Certificate in Indigenous Cultural Awareness from the First Nations Technical Institute. She sits on the board of KlezKanada and previously served on the board of Kaeja d’Dance.