“An extraordinary event that encompasses not only the foremost South Asian artists but has embraced a broad and bounteous collection of other cultural traditions. — Dorothy Woodend, The Tyee
Photo: Immigrant Lessons troupe at ISF by Nick Siu
Indian Summer Festival
I am the Co-Founder of Vancouver's annual Indian Summer Festival, an omnivorous festival of the arts and ideas. The festival catalyzes and inspires audiences and artists in a spirit of dialogue, creativity and global citizenship.
The festival amplifies and centres the voices of South Asian artists, in conversation with artists from other communities, especially Indigenous communities on Turtle Island.
I served as the Founding Artistic Director over twelve editions (2011-2022), during which time I was responsible for presenting more than 1,000 artists and thinkers in a roster that includes Nobel, Booker, Grammy and Oscar prize-winners as well as young, emerging talent across literature, visual arts, music, film, performing arts, and culinary arts.
During my leadership, Indian Summer Festival has been recognized by a Mayoral Proclamation of ‘Indian Summer Festival Week’ (2015), the Pan-Asian Recognition Award (2019) for contributions to cultural diversity in Vancouver and an Honourable Mention for ‘Breaking Barriers’ at the BC Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Awards (2020). In 2022, ISF was awarded the Lt. Governor’s Arts and Music Award, a one-time award recognizing outstanding leadership, creativity and community building through the arts in British Columbia.
Featured Artists
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Literature
Arundhati Roy, Salman Rushdie, Michael Ondaatje, Yann Martel, Ben Okri, Shauna Singh Baldwin, Coleman Barks, Pico Iyer, Kamila Shamsie, Mohsin Hamid, Amitav Ghosh, Eden Robinson, Ivan Coyote, Aja Monet, Arthur Flowers, David Chariandy, Renee Sarojini Saklikar, Anosh Irani, Jeet Thayil, Avni Doshi, Rana Dasgupta, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Zarqa Nawaz + more.
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Music
Hariprasad Chaurasia, Zakir Hussain, Anoushka Shankar, Amjad Ali Khan, Dr. L Subramaniam, Ernie Watts, Talvin Singh, Ruby Singh, Rajasthan Josh, Tarun Nayar, Shubha Mudgal, Shamik Bilgi, Too Attached, Kinnie Starr, DJ Sikh Knowledge, PIQSIQ, Humble the Poet, Arooj Aftab, Madison McFerrin, Mob Bounce, Ashwin Sood, DJ Lil’ India + more.
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Visual Arts
Bharti Kher, Reena Saini Kallat, Raqs Media Collective, Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, Debra Sparrow, Sandeep Johal, Jag Nagra, Sara Khan, Dayanita Singh, Orjit Sen, Bhajju Shyam, Aradhana Seth, Molly Crabapple, Joe Sacco, Susan Point, Jin-me Yoon, Maynard Johnny Jr., Kanika Sethi, Jonny Ostrem, Sammy Chien + more.
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Film + Performing Arts
Deepa Mehta, Tabu, Shabana Azmi, Sharmila Tagore, Agam Darshi, Waris Ahluwalia, Leslee Udwin, Sanjay Kak, Anupam Kher, Sujit Vaidya, Immigrant Lessons, Her Tribal Roots, Nepathya, Introducing Asia, Scheherazaad Cooper + more.
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Ideas
Joseph Stiglitz, Jessica Jackley, Arunachalam Muruganantham, Wade Davis, Vandana Shiva, David Suzuki, Urvashi Butalia, Parag Khanna, Peter Klein, Jarrett Martineau, Hari Kondabolu, David Barsamian, Dr. Harold Varmus, Dr. Arun Garg, Yogacharini Maitreyi, Miloon Kothari, Dabbawalas of Mumbai, Naresh Fernandes, Raghu Karnad, Sudeep Chakravarti, Naomi Klein + more.
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Culinary Arts
Vikram Vij, Meeru Dhalwala, Sanjeev Kapoor, Frank Pabst, Tushar Tondvalkar, Rob Feenie, Thomas Haas, Jefferson Alvarez, Karan Suri, Masaaki ‘Masa’ Kudo, Tayybeh Syrian Women’s Collective, Karen McAthy, Theresa Contois, Abhishek Roy, Deniz Tarakcioglu, Bakhos Mjalleh + more.
Putting on a festival is a collaborative effort. This work would not have been possible without my Co-founder Laura Byspalko, incredible team members and board members over the years, and hundreds of volunteers. Most of all, my respect and thanks to the artists who have given every edition its life.