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Tobaron Waxman (born 1970) is a Canadian interdisciplinary artist, an accomplished filmmaker, curator, educator and singer. His work focuses on gender embodiment and the ways in which it intersects with society, and with religion specifically. He often employs themes of Jewish tradition, combining his heritage with his art.

His work involves the use of contemporary approaches including video installation, performance art, film, photography, and song. In 2015, Waxman spoke as a visiting scholar at the University of California, invited by the Beatrice Bain Research Group. His work is recognized and exhibited at multiple museums, including the Jewish Museum and the New Museum, both located in New York. Waxman has received awards and grants by art councils including the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Toronto Arts Council.

Early Life and Family
Waxman was born in Toronto to Sara and Al Waxman. His father, now deceased, made his name as a renowned Canadian actor. Before his passing, Al and Sara initiated the Neo-Natal Unit at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. Waxman's brother, Adam, was born in 1972. He now works as an executive editor for DINE magazine alongside his mother Sara, who is editor in chief.

Education
Waxman did course work in integrated media at the Ontario College of Art and Design between 1995 and 1998. He also completed a B.A. in Humanities at the University of Toronto in 1998. He received his M.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2014. Most recently, he studied traditional Jewish liturgy, music and vocal techniques in various Orthodox Yeshivas spanning from 2003 to 2007.

Career
Through his work, Waxman explores the way in which privileged ideals affect embodiment. He uses lens-based media in order to deconstruct the social implications of his own status, by linking gender identity to Jewish tradition.

Waxman has taught courses in video, performance art, history and photography at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the School of Art Institute of Chicago, the University of London and the University of California.

His credibility is notable, as many of his works have been discussed in academic papers and dissertations. Jordy Jones makes reference to Waxman's 'Opshernish' performance in his dissertation on "The Ambiguous I: Photography, Gender, Self". Jones refers to the body as political grounds for social change, and cites Waxman's work as successfully blurring the lines of tradition, and redirecting focus on new and relevant issues surrounding embodiment.

Waxman's academic credibility is further established in an article by Carol Zemel, an associate professor of Art History and Visual Culture at York University, who references the symbolic significance of his work, crediting his ability to dismantle cultural standards. She, and other scholars, including George Doran, have described his art as challenging fixed notions of gender, religion and space.

In 2013, Waxman founded the world's first Intergenerational LGBT Artist Residency. The aim of the residency is to enhance LGBT community building through shared experience. The residency combines curatorial, relational/life art, and sociopolitical praxis.

Filmography

 * Grrrl (2013) (cinematographer)
 * The Red Window (1997) (actor)