Aleph Melbourne congratulates Margie Fischer on being included in the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
Details below courtesy of J-Wire.
MEMBER [AM] IN THE GENERAL DIVISION OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA
Margaret Charlotte FISCHER, Hahndorf SA 5245
For significant service to the festival sector, and to the LGBTIQ community.
Feast Adelaide Queer Arts and Cultural Festival
- Co-Founder 1997.
- Committee Member and Mentor, Queer Youth Drop In, since 2014.
- Former Artistic Director.
- Former Deputy Chair.
Vitalstatistix – Port Adelaide
- Board Advisor, 2014.
- Artistic Director, 1984-1994.
- Co-Founder, 1984.
Community – Jewish
- Member, Chevra Kadisha, Adelaide Progressive Jewish Congregation, since 2013.
- Member, Beit Shalom Synagogue, Adelaide Progressive Jewish Congregation, since 1995.
- Former Member, South Australian Branch, National Council of Jewish Women Australia.
Awards and recognition includes:
- Ruby Award, Sustained Contribution by an Individual, Arts South Australia, 2017.
- Adelaide Citizen of the Year, 2012.
- Geoff Crowhurst Memorial Award, Arts South Australia.
- Ros Bower Award, Australia Council for the Arts.
“It is an honour to be recognised for my work. When I heard I’d been awarded one it truly was a shock, but a good shock,” said Margie Fischer.
She regards it as a privilege to continue working with LGBTIQ artists both established and emerging, young people and Elders across gender and sexuality.
“I am an outsider and like being one. I am just drawn to people on the outside. Everything I do is informed by my cultural background” Margie Fishcher told J-Wire.
Her parents were Holocaust survivors who came to Australia as refugees and she grew up speaking both Yiddish and Austrian at home. She continues to run the Queer Youth Drop In and Gay Bingo and work on a number of creative projects.