Indian Summer Arts Society

Indian Summer was founded to address a gap in Vancouver’s cultural landscape and to break stereotypical perceptions of South Asian art as ossified, traditional, and nostalgic. The festival has since grown to serve as a meeting place for many more cultures and has seen a programmatic evolution from an expression of diasporic South Asian identity in British Columbia to its current shape as a festival that takes a decidedly pluralistic approach, welcoming and exploring issues that lie at the intersections of multiple communities, through a South Asian lens. Widely acknowledged as the pre-eminent presenter of South Asian arts and ideas in Canada, the festival believes in the transformative power of the arts to build bridges and foster dialogue. Each year, the festival presents provocative arts events that feature some of the finest artists and visionaries from Canada, South Asia, and beyond. From leading voices in literature to genre-defying performance art, immersive installations to classical ragas, Indian Summer Festival has presented emerging artists as well as Nobel, Booker, Grammy and Oscar prize nominees on its stages. Our festival always has a strong discursive line running alongside the conceptual, by way of panels, ideas series, and artist talks, supported by a distinct curatorial theme each year.

We produce some of Vancouver’s most vital and distinctive arts + culture events. Indian Summer Festival is dedicated to the exceptional creativity of South Asian arts and artists. Through our programming, we push boundaries and merge worlds. Our approach to programming is unique and embraces the complex diversity of South Asian voices and cultures. Curating through a South Asian lens, we centre and amplify diverse South Asian artists in conversation with BIMPOC artists, especially those from Black and Indigenous communities. Driven by care and curiosity, we nurture artistic exploration and innovation, expanding the possibilities of South Asian art and performance.