VANCOUVER’S ANNUAL
A FESTIVAL WHERE WORLDS MEET JULY 7–16, 2016
POWERED BY
INDIANSUMMERFEST.CA SHOWS + EVENTS
What Not to Wear 6 ISF2016 Opening Gala 8 Songs of the Desert Sufis 10 Border Crossings 11 Don’t Let Them Know 12 MANAGING DIRECTOR LAURA BYSPALKO (LEFT) WITH SIRISH RAO Seeding the Future 14 Dangerous Silences 15 Maple Leaf Islam 16 5x15 17 Tropitaal ISF2016 Closing Party 18
EVENT CALENDAR 19 Welcome from the Bharti Kher - Matter 22 Artistic Director FUSE 23 What We Hold Dear 24 Sirish Rao The Cartographer’s Tale 25 (be)longing 26 The Indian Summer Festival is really not a festival at all. I say this because the word Merchant of Images 27 ‘festival’ conjures up something temporary, perhaps even fleeting. To all of us at 2 Echo 28 Indian Summer, the festival really is a model for the kind of society we’d like to When Morning Comes 29 see. A society that is creative, diverse, inclusive and innovative. As the world builds let’s heal the divide 30 more and more walls and as societies get more suspicious and afraid of people F-Grass 31 who don’t look like them and think like them, we believe in the transformative Engagement 32 power of the arts and the festival is our way of reaffirming these beliefs. And so for ten days this July, we invite you to gather around a series of provocative FESTIVAL INFO multi-disciplinary events that feature some of the finest artists and visionaries from Artistic Director’s Letter 2 Canada, South Asia and beyond. Our programming is rigorous and quirky with Our Patrons Circle 3 an appetite for experimentation, deep thinking, and curiosity. We see artists as Partners’ Greetings 4 important voices in the larger community, allowing us to step into the worlds they create, while also addressing the pressing questions of the one we inhabit. We Join Our Circle 33 offer a model for dialogue, a possibility for an inclusive community that is unafraid List of Artists 34 of striking up conversations – both cheerful and difficult. About Us 35 Acknowledgments 37 The theme for this year’s festival is ‘Border Crossings’. Our stellar cast of artists - Accessible Indian Summer 38 from Oscar prize-winning filmmakers to emerging young writers - will be bringing the theme to life with the recognition that borders are not just geographic, but Cover image: Echo2 by Bharti Kher, reproduced with the kind permission of the artist. also linguistic, religious, racial, sexual, emotional, psychological and culinary. Indian Summer’s Border Crossings edition seeks to create space to explore these intersecting boundaries where we meet ‘the other.’ We hope the events at this year’s festival will enable you to respect and recognize the work and struggle that SFU is proud to be Founding Partner of the Indian Summer Festival are a part of many border crossings, as well as appreciate that sometimes the most incredible creativity lies at the edges of things. “Celebrating arts, culture and ideas as Canada’s community-engaged research university.” WWW.SFU.CA
2 Messages From Our Partners
Thank You to Our Patrons Circle “Welcome to the 2016 Indian Summer Festival! The Government of Canada is proud to support this gathering, We are proud to be a patron-powered festival, made possible largely because which lets artists share their talent and the rich heritage of of the generosity and support of a community of individuals who share our South Asia with Canadians of all backgrounds. As Minister vision for a diverse, inclusive and culturally-rich society. We extend our heartfelt of Canadian Heritage, I thank all the organizers, artists and gratitude to this visionary group: volunteers who made this festival a success.”
THE HONOURABLE MÉLANIE JOLY
MINISTER OF CANADIAN HERITAGE CURATORS Ali Khan (Honorary) Renee & Monty Sikka “One of the great things about British Columbia is the variety of multicultural events that entertain, educate and inspire us LUMINARIES BENEFACTORS all. The Indian Summer Festival – its rhythms, its colours and its Rita & Pankaj Agarwal Aarti & Shawn Goyal messages – will no doubt inspire one and all.”
Sandy Garossino Anuja & Praveen Varshney THE HONOURABLE CHRISTY CLARK
Shahin & Asgar Virji Jessie & Jas Sandhu PREMIER OF BRITISH COLUMBIA Sunita & Sukesh Kumar Hema & Haresh Bhatt Zena Henriquez Koml Kandola & Mandeep Dhaliwal Richa & Vik Khanna “The City of Vancouver is proud to support and host the 2016 Indian Summer Festival. Every year the Festival features the FAMILY FRIENDS FRIENDS finest artists and visionaries from Canada, South Asia and Ashwin Sood Anonymous beyond who inspire dialogue and global citizenship and Cynnie Woodward & Richard Ladds Carol Dey reflect Vancouver’s position as a harbour for diverse ideas and Debera Barager & David Rees David Pais cultures.”
Dianna Waggoner & Michael Alexander Farida & Gulnaaz Lalji GREGOR ROBERTSON Hitesh Kothary & Andrea Hawkes Inji Islam MAYOR OF THE CITY OF VANCOUVER Ishita & Dee Hayer (Honorary) Jan Whitford & Michael Stevenson Lynn & Ashok Katey Lindsay Brown (Honorary) Michael L. Lee & Christina Yan Lee Parviz & Maheb Nathoo “As Founding Partner of the Indian Summer Festival, Simon Fraser Nisha & Sharad Khare (Honorary) Priya Anand University is delighted to welcome you to this sixth annual Nomita & Manish Bharadwaj Shishir Gopinath celebration of arts, culture and ideas. True to our mission as Payal & Kuku Batra Sudha Kshatriya Canada’s ‘engaged university,’ we are again honoured to be Ramesh Sahjpaul Vivek Savkur part of the festival and to connect with friends old and new.”
Sangeeta & Kush Malhotra ANDREW PETTER
Tracey & Anibal Valente PRESIDENT AND VICE CHANCELLOR, SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
3 4 PHOTO: LORENZO BRINGHELI
What Not to Wear with Waris Ahluwalia
Waris Ahluwalia is an internationally renowned actor, model FRIDAY and designer. He has been the face of Gap, worked with Wes Anderson, Spike Lee and Deepa Mehta, and is on the June 10 list of Vogue’s ‘10 Most Impactful People’. PRE-FESTIVAL Earlier this year, Waris was returning home to NYC from CURTAIN RAISER Mexico City, when Aeroméxico staff asked him to remove WHEN his turban. Waris pointed out that body scanners made this superfluous but the airline would not budge. Nor would they 8pm Doors at 7pm provide him with the private room he requested to take his WHERE turban off (which, he explained to them, as a Sikh he could not remove in public). He was prevented from boarding the SFU’s Goldcorp flight. Centre for the Arts “Dear NYC fashion week. I may be a little late as @ Djavad Mowafaghian aeromexico won’t let me fly with a turban.” He tweeted. Cinema, 149 West As news channels picked up on the story, rather than blow off Hastings St. some celebrity steam, Waris offered to speak to Aeroméxico TICKETS staff about religious sensitivity. His actions and his hashtag #fearisanopportunitytoeducate inspired many, and showed $25-30 grace in the face of prejudice, resulting in Aeroméxico updating their training programme. Spend an evening with an iconoclast who manages to infuse the glamorous worlds of fashion and film with an unwavering commitment to creating a more thoughtful way of living. In conversation with Waris Ahluwalia is Prem Gill, CEO of Creative BC.
WARIS PREM AHLUWALIA GILL
COMMUNITY PARTNER
6 Opening Gala: Culinary Border Crossings With Vikram Vij & Guest Chefs
“One of the top 10 parties to look forward to!” THURSDAY – 24 HRS July 7 Glamorous guests, fine sips and delectable nibbles curated by Vikram Vij – Indian Summer Festival’s Opening Gala is one of the city’s most sought after summer parties. WHEN 7pm This year, Vikram has challenged some of Vancouver’s top chefs to cross a culinary border, in keeping with the festival’s WHERE ‘Border Crossings’ theme. From award-winning stalwarts like Roundhouse Vij’s, Café Medina, Maenam, Cactus Club and Blue Water Café to the new and hip Ancora, Bodega, Bella Gelateria and Community Centre Bob Likes Thai Food, this is a gastronome’s delight. 181 Roundhouse Mews Watch out for the lively music stage serving sonic appetizers TICKETS from party favourites Surya Brass Band and international sensations Rajasthan Josh with DJ Rup Sidhu. $95 This is no time to be shy – bring out your finest saris and handmade bowties. Your ticket includes food and a complimentary beverage.
VIKRAM RAJASTHAN R U P SURYA VIJ JOSH SIDHU BRASS BAND
HOSPITALITY PARTNERS
7 8 “This was music that transported the Songs of the listener, not just to the state of Rajasthan, Desert Sufis but to a state of mesmeric bliss.” Rajasthan Josh and Friends in Concert – LONDON FINANCIAL TIMES
Ever since the Beatles heard the sound of Ravi Shankar’s SATURDAY sitar, and the Rolling Stones stumbled upon the master musi- cians of Morocco, there has been a growing awareness and July 9 interconnectedness between the musical traditions of east and west. Vancouver gets a taste of one of the best exam- ples of this musical conversation this summer when the Indian WHEN music sensation Rajasthan Josh takes over the Orpheum with 8pm Doors at 7pm a host of local friends. WHERE Rajasthan Josh is known for their electrifying sound, driven by rumbling Nagara drums, soulful strings and vocals that dip Orpheum Theatre into Sufi traditions from the12th century to the present day. 601 Smithe St. This unique musical collective has collaborated with a range of international artists from the Grateful Dead to Nusrat Fateh TICKETS Ali Khan, Susheela Raman to Dub Colossus. Earlier this year $35 – 85 members of Rajasthan Josh were part of a major new album Tiered Seating ‘Junun’ (arranged by Shye Ben Tzur and Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood). A documentary film by the same name was di- rected by PT Anderson (Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood) premiered at the New York Film Festival. Rajasthan Josh return to Vancouver following their sold out
show at the 2013 Indian Summer Festival, for a musical PRESENTING PARTNER re/union with some of BC’s great talents – composer and beat boxer Rup Sidhu, drummer Ashwin Sood, violinist Sara Fitzpatrick, singer-songwriter Kinnie Starr and baritone Shane Raman accompanied by the Sarah McLachlan School of Mu- sic Youth Choir. This is the world music concert of the summer - bringing the raw power of myriad faiths, musical traditions, and languages on stage together.
RAJASTHAN R U P ASHWIN SARA KINNIE SHANE JOSH SIDHU SOOD FITZPATRICK STARR RAMAN
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
10 TUESDAY July 12
WHEN THURSDAY 8:30pm Doors at 8pm Don’t Let July 14 WHERE Border Crossings Them Know Ismaili Centre WHEN Burnaby Love, Sexuality and the South Asian Family 6pm Doors at 5:30pm “Our sojourn in this universe is so fleeting and so 4010 Canada Way WHERE perilous that the story of anyone’s struggle to Being LGBTQ+ and South Asian means dealing with a TICKETS survive is astonishing and poignant.” complex tangle of the personal and the political. Despite SFU’s Goldcorp $20 – 25 some momentous legal milestones (such as in Canada, Centre for the Arts – K E I T H J O H N S T O N E , I M P R O V P I O N E E R where same sex marriage has been legal for a decade) Djavad Mowafaghian many South Asians still feel unable to come out to their Border Crossings featuring Truth be Told Theatre Company’s Cinema, 149 West parents and families. Do we need to cultivate and see more ‘The Life GameTM’ is an experimental improv theatre project. Hastings St. representations of South Asian LGBTQ+ people across art ‘Border Crossings’ brings personal life stories, political forms and in the media? What positive stories exist that offer SUPPORTING PARTNER theatre, music and improvisation to the stage in a unique TICKETS hope on a little talked about subject? What work needs live performance experience. The project invites members of to be done with communities and families? And how can $15 – 20 Vancouver’s South Asian immigrant communities to offer their broader society support this process? life stories as material and inspiration for a live performance. Real life guests will share their stories with an interviewer To explore these questions in life and art are three fine on stage, while professional actors and musicians enact, writers from Canada, India and the USA – Kolkata based amplify and interpret the stories that they share. At its heart, Sandip Roy, whose novel ‘Don’t Let Him Know’ was recently the purpose of Border Crossings, and ‘The Life GameTM’ is published to worldwide acclaim, Minal Hajratwala from WEDNESDAY to honour the guest and to support the audience to enter the San Francisco, whose ‘A Brief Guide to Gender in India’ for SUPPORTING PARTNER emotional territory of their life. Granta went viral on the web and Vivek Shraya, a three-time July 13 Lambda Award nominated artist from Toronto. Hosting the There are two performances of ‘Border Crossings’ – one at dialogue is Romi Chandra Herbert, Co-Executive Director of WHEN the beautiful Ismaili Centre in Burnaby, and the second at PeerNet. 7pm Doors at 6:30pm SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts in downtown Vancouver. Each performance will feature a different set of guests, and be WHERE completely unique. Attend both for a richer experience! SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts
149 West Hastings St.
TICKETS $20 – 25 TRUTH KARIM MOHAMED VIVEK MINAL SANDIP R O M I B E T O L D ALRAWI ASSANI TRIO SHRAYA HAJRATWALA ROY CHANDRA THEATRE HERBERT
FUNDER COMMUNITY PARTNER FUNDER COMMUNITY PARTNERS
11 12 THURSDAY Seeding The Future July 14
An Evening with Vandana Shiva WHEN 8pm Doors at 7pm “If you are doing the right thing for the earth, she’s
giving you great company.” –VANDANA SHIVA WHERE St Andrew’s Wesley Dr. Vandana Shiva is a physicist and social activist, widely re- garded as the torchbearer of the international sustainable food Church movement. Dr. Shiva combines sharp intellectual enquiry with 1022 Nelson St. courageous activism: her work spans teaching at universities around the world to working with peasants in rural India. She TICKETS has won many awards for her work including the Right Live- lihood Award (aka the Alternative Nobel Prize), The Lennon/ $25 – 30 Ono Grant for Peace and the Sydney Peace Prize. In particular Dr. Shiva campaigns for food security, food sover- eignty, and a genuinely democratic and sustainable food sys- tem. Many communities worldwide have taken inspiration from her vision and from the work of her organization Navdanya. In a rare Vancouver appearance, Dr. Shiva will speak of ‘Seeding the Future’. Her talk will inform and inspire the next PRESENTATION PARTNER generation of environmental leaders in the fight to protect na- ture and people’s rights to knowledge, biodiversity, water and food. Dr. Shiva reminds us that it all starts with a seed. Dr. Shiva’s talk will be followed by a 30 minute conversation with special guest, noted environmentalist and member of parliament Elizabeth May.
SUPPORTING PARTNER
VANDANA ELIZABETH SHIVA MAY
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
14 FRIDAY FRIDAY Dangerous Silences Maple Leaf Islam July 15 July 15 Leslee Udwin in conversation with Deepa Mehta The Many Shades of Belonging
WHEN WHEN 5pm Doors at 4:30pm London-based filmmaker Leslee Udwin’s documentary ‘India’s When the great 19th century Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib was 7pm Doors at 6:30pm Daughter’ tells the story of the horrific sexual assault of a stopped at a British military checkpoint in Delhi, he was WHERE medical student in Delhi in 2012 that shocked India and the asked “Are you a Muslim?”. His reply: “Only half a Muslim. WHERE SFU’s Goldcorp world. Tina Brown described it as “a shocking and powerful You see, I drink wine but I don’t eat pork.” Ghalib’s famous SFU’s Goldcorp film. It moves, it confounds and infuriates but above all it reply has echoes for us in these equally turbulent times, even Centre for the Arts Centre for the Arts inspires. It persuades the world with an eloquent plea, at a in an apparently placid Canada. time when gender equality is at last on the global agenda.” Djavad Mowafaghian Djavad Mowafaghian What does it mean to be a Muslim in a secular democracy Cinema, 149 West Cinema, 149 West Meryl Streep supported the film for an Oscar nomination and it like Canada? Is it a public or a private identity? Can you Hastings St. Hastings St. won the prestigious Peabody award, 2016. The film also had drink wine and be a Muslim, be an atheist and a Muslim? its detractors – the Government of India banned its release and If you disavow being a Muslim, does your name still make TICKETS TICKETS many activists expressed concern with Udwin’s approach. you a Muslim? And for those who practice the faith – isn’t ($20 Double Bill)* $15 ($25 Double Bill)* wearing the clothing of your choice implicit in democracy? $15 Hosting a conversation with Leslee Udwin is Oscar-nominated Or must you adjust if you are not to be seen as ‘the other’? filmmaker Deepa Mehta, an artist who occupies a special If Canada is an all-embracing mosaic, a multi-faith society, place in the cultural landscape - in Canada and in India. This why has there been a need to institute an Islamophobia is the first time that these two resilient artists will meet each helpline to assist those Canadians being unfairly targeted other, with Mehta throwing Udwin’s work into relief for a because of their faith? Does a Maple Leaf Islam exist? Can Canadian audience. CO-PRESENTER SUPPORTING PARTNER it? Should it? Indian Summer Festival hopes to be one of the sites an To explore these questions are three outstanding Canadian important global conversation on the worldwide epidemic of novelists: Karim Alrawi, Monia Mazigh and Ameen violence against women, and the role of artists in highlighting Merchant, led by Devyani Saltzman, writer and Director of issues that affect our most intimate lives. Literary Arts at The Banff Centre. Join them as they take you through their real and imagined worlds.
SUPPORTING PARTNER *Save $5 when you purchase tickets to both Maple Leaf Islam and Dangerous Silences. Simply choose the double-ticket package deal when making your purchase online.
LESLEE DEEPA MONIA KARIM AMEEN DEVYANI UDWIN MEHTA MAZIGH ALRAWI MERCHANT SALTZMAN
COMMUNITY PARTNERS FUNDER COMMUNITY PARTNERS
15 16 SATURDAY July 16 5x15 Tropitaal Five brilliant speakers, fifteen minutes ISF2016 Closing Party with DJ Anjali and WHEN each. Magic. The Incredible Kid 8pm Doors at 7:30pm ‘If 5×15’s packed soirées feel like an evening of “DJ Anjali & the Incredible Kid have been WHERE offline, communal surfing, it’s due to the eclectic Portland’s leading world music DJs since the turn SATURDAY The Imperial menu of speakers.’ – THE NEW YORK TIMES of the millennium.” – WILLAMETTE WEEK 319 Main St. July 16
TICKETS 5x15 is a speakers series that originated in London and has Indian Summer’s closing party is the place to be on a summery WHEN $15 ($25 Double Bill)* since spread to New York and Milan. It features five stellar Saturday night, as you join festival artists and special guests in speakers, speaking for fifteen minutes each on a topic they bringing the curtains down on the 2016 edition in style. 10pm (till late) 19+ years with ID are deeply passionate about. The only rules: the talk should Take the sultry vibe of the Latin American tropics, combine ($25 double bill)* be unscripted, and fifteen minutes long. 5x15 has hosted WHERE it with the thundering rhythms of India (“Taal”) and stir it into speakers such as Gloria Steinem, Ben Okri, Brian Eno, Tropitaal, a Desi/Latino Soundclash. Created by longtime The Imperial Malcom Gladwell, Eve Ensler and Ahdaf Soueif. Since 2014, Portland favourites DJ Anjali and the Incredible Kid, this is 319 Main St. Indian Summer Festival has hosted the only Canadian iteration where the hottest club sounds from India and Latin America go of 5x15. head to head in a dance battle. Mix a potion of Reggaeton, TICKETS We return for the third edition in 2016 with an all star lineup Moombahton, Digital Cumbia, 3Ball Guarachero, Dembow, $15 - 20 PRESENTATION PARTNER including Oscar-nominated filmmaker Deepa Mehta on ’The Dancehall and add some Chutney, Desiton, Bollywood & 19+ years with ID Rasa Box’, psychology professor Dr. Rajiv Jhangiani on ‘The Bhangramuffin and you’ve got a scorching dance-off of epic ($25 double bill)* Psychology of Good and Evil’, award-winning playwright proportions. and novelist Carmen Aguirre and Toronto based writer and musician Vivek Shraya. The evening is hilariously and graciously hosted by comedian Kalyani Pandya. Be a part of this crowd favourite at the Imperial Nightclub. Following the talk is our roaring closing party ’Tropitaal’ featuring a Desi/Latino soundclash. Stay for a dance and make it a night out!
+1 SPECIAL GUEST
R A J I V DEEPA VIVEK CARMEN DJ T H E JHANGIANI MEHTA SHRAYA AGUIRRE ANJALI INCREDIBLE KID
FUNDER HOSPITALITY PARTNERS
17 18 JOIN THE CONVERSATION #WHEREWORLDSMEET
July 7-16 IndianSummerCND IndianSummerCanada IndianSummerFestival
THURS WED FRI TICKETS AVAILABLE ONLINE OPENING LET’S HEAL FUSE indiansummerfest.ca 07 GALA 13 THE DIVIDE 15 Private Lives/Public Dreams With Vikram Vij & Guest Chefs Artist’s talk by Toni Latour IN PERSON Pg. 23 At the door while tickets remain. Events do Pg. 8 Pg. 30 sell out – advanced booking is advised!
FRI SAT 5X15 BHARTI KHER BORDER SFU’S GOLDCORP CENTRE FOR THE ARTS Five Speakers, Fifteen Minutes ARTIST’S TOUR CROSSINGS #2 149 West Hastings St. 08 16 Each. Magic. At the Vancouver Art Gallery Experimental Improv-Theatre ROUNDHOUSE COMMUNITY CENTRE performance 181 Roundhouse Mews Pg. 17 Pg. 22 VANCOUVER ART GALLERY Pg . 11 SAT TROPITAAL 750 Hornby St. SONGS OF THE ST ANDREW’S WESLEY CHURCH DESERT SUFIS THURS ISF2016 Closing Party 09 DON’T LET THEM 1022 Nelson St. Rajasthan Josh & Friends KNOW Pg. 18 THE ORPHEUM in Concert 14 Love, Sexuality, and the South 884 Granville St.
Asian Family F-GRASS THE IMPERIAL Pg. 10 Writers respond to Ai Weiwei 319 Main St. Pg. 12 FAMILY FUSE installation ISMAILI CENTRE BURNABY WEEKEND* 4010 Canada Way SEEDING Pg. 31 Inspiration Everywhere THE FUTURE Pg. 23 An Evening with Vandana Shiva ENGAGEMENT CULINARY MUSIC Writers respond to Dennis SUN Pg. 14 WHAT WE Oppenheim installation IDEAS F R E E HOLD DEAR 10 FRI Pg. 32 The Musical Legacy of DANGEROUS VISUAL ART THEATRE the Sufis 15 SILENCES Leslee Udwin in Conversation Pg. 24 with Deepa Mehta JULY 7 - OCT 10 JULY 6 - AUG 6 TUE BHARTI KHER - MATTER MERCHANT OF IMAGES BORDER Pg. 15 The first major retrospective in North America Photographs of Vancouverites by 12 CROSSINGS #1 of the New Delhi based artist. Aradhana Seth Experimental Improv-Theatre MAPLE LEAF performance ISLAM Pg. 22 Pg. 27 The Many Shades of
Pg . 11 Belonging JULY 7 - JULY 16 JULY 7 - JULY 16 THE CARTOGRAPHER’S TALE (BE)LONGING Pg. 16 WHEN MORNING A massive participatory board game spanning Pop-up gallery installation featuring COMES the entirety of the Woodwards Atrium. themes of migration and belonging. Book Launch: Youth of the EVENTS MULTI-DAY Soweto Uprising Pg. 25 Pg. 26
Pg. 29 * Family FUSE Weekend: Sat July 9 & Sun July 10 19 20 Bharti Kher: MATTER July 9 - October 10
The first major retrospective in North America of New Delhi WHEN based artist Bharti Kher, this exhibition brings together Daily 10am to 5pm sculptures and paintings that represent the diversity of Kher’s practice and articulate the perceptions and realities of being Tuesdays until 9pm female today. From the unique language of her bindi paintings and abstract sari sculptures to the provocative animal-human WHERE hybrid figures, this comprehensive selection of works speaks Vancouver Art Gallery about domesticity, gender and body politics. 1022 Nelson St. BHARTI KHER Matter is part of the Vancouver Art Gallery’s Institute of Asian Art’s exhibition programing which features TICKETS historical, contemporary and emerging international and local asian artists, and is presented in association with the Indian For ticket information Summer Festival. please visit: vanartgallery.bc.ca
Organized by the Vancouver Art Gallery and co-curated by Daina Augaitis Chief Curator / Associate Director and Diana Freundl, Associate Curator, Asian Art.
SPECIAL EVENT PRESENTED BY Artist’s Tour: Bharti Kher Friday July 8, 6pm Vancouver Art Gallery, 3rd floor
Join artist Bharti Kher as she tours her retrospective exhibition with co-curators Daina Augaitis, Chief Curator/ Associate Director, and Diana Freundl, Associate Curator, Asian Art. The work of this internationally acclaimed artist explores complex human concerns of gender and social relationships. This is a rare opportunity to tour the exhibit with the artist before it opens to the public. “Kher is one of the leading female Free. No registration required. Enter via the Hornby Street doors, BHARTI artists of her generation.” meet in the lobby KHER
– THE GUARDIAN, UK 22 PHOTO: PARDEEP SINGH
PRESENTED BY
SATURDAY & SUNDAY SUNDAY Family FUSE Weekend What We Hold Dear: July 9 & July 10 July 10 Inspiration Everywhere The Musical Legacy of WHEN Discover the Vancouver Art Gallery’s Family FUSE Weekend, WHEN 10am - 5pm where you will meet artists, musicians, dancers, performers, the Sufis 8pm Doors at 7:30pm TICKETS and educators for a weekend filled with family fun!
FREE for Gallery Members Artists are influenced by many things from people and A lecture/demonstration by Chugge WHERE and for children age 12 & places to dreams and stories of the past. Join us this Family under when accompanied by Khan and friends Ismaili Centre Burnaby an adult. Children must be Fuse weekend and explore how we can all find Inspiration 4010 Canada Way accompanied by an adult. Everywhere. Explore the galleries summer exhibitions through a Sufi music is the sound of Islam’s mystical inner dimension. Regular adult admission rates diverse range of performances, in- gallery engagement, hands- At once spiritual and ecstatic, Sufi music reflects some of the apply. TICKETS on making activities and workshops. most accessible, liberal and pluralistic traditions of Islam. $15 WHERE This edition of Family Fuse weekend features special guest Today it is contained in a variety of forms – from Qawwali Vancouver Art Gallery artists from the Indian Summer Festival. (made popular the world over by musicians such as Nusrat This is a special partnership Fateh Ali Khan) to the Kafis of poet saints like Bulle Shah, to with the Ismaili Centre. Tickets 750 Hornby St. a contemporary version some refer to as ‘Sufi Rock’. are available directly with Master musician Chugge Khan, born in the Thar desert in the centre at theismaili.org/ India, is a living repository of more than a thousand songs, ismailicentres/burnaby or at and a master of many instruments. He has played with a the door. FRIDAY wide range of musicians (from Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan to AR FUSE Rahman, to Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead) on stages all July 15 Private Lives/Public Dreams over the world including the Fez Sacred Music Festival and Womad. WHEN FUSE transforms the Vancouver Art Gallery into THE place Join Chugge Khan and key members of his musical collective CO-PRESENTER 8pm - 12am for art, music and live performance in the city. Since its Rajasthan Josh at a special evening in the beautiful courtyard inception in July 2005, thousands of FUSE–goers have garden of the Ismaili Centre in Burnaby. In an informal TICKETS converged at the Gallery for this unique adult event. Live lecture/demonstration format, they will take us on a journey $24 at the door. performances in the Gallery spaces, DJs, eclectic Gallery of the poetry, instruments and songs that inspire them. This tours and unexpected surprises have made FUSE Vancouver’s FREE for Gallery Members. event follows from the concert ‘Songs of the Desert Sufis’ favourite see–and–be–seen event. (page 9) and provides a deeper understanding of how Sufi WHERE The summer edition of FUSE is guest-curated by Sirish Rao music and poetry continues to influence our contemporary Vancouver Art Gallery (Artistic Director of the Indian Summer Festival). FUSE: lives. Guiding us with musical context (and translating from PRIVATE LIVES/PUBLIC DREAMS explores the relationships Hindi and Urdu to English) is Mohamed Assani, himself a 750 Hornby St. between the personal, the political, the fantastic and the musician of renown and a noted member of Vancouver’s mythical through art, performance, projection, dance, musical community. storytelling and music. 23 24 “Nostalgia plays a big part in the process of immigration, as sometimes the memory of a place where we once lived is all that keeps us grounded, longing and hopeful as we evolve through an
unknown, new environment.” – OLIVIA CHABER
July 7 - 16 The Cartographer’s (be)longing July 7 - 16 (ongoing) (ongoing) A pop-up gallery reflecting on the WHERE Tale WHERE feeling of belonging (elsewhere) Woodwards Atrium Participatory Board Game SFU’s Goldcorp
111 West Hastings St. The Cartographer’s Tale is at once an art piece and a (be)longing pop-up art gallery showcases three Emily Carr art Centre for the Arts, massive participatory board game spanning the entirety of the and design students whose works were developed through Lobby TICKETS Woodwards Atrium, in which anyone moving through the space a community engagement project with MOSIAC immigrant 149 West Hastings St. Free is automatically a player. Instead of traversing this commercial settlement services. Featuring themes of migration and landscape along efficient/predictable routes from entrance nostalgia, (be)longing conceptualizes fundamental cultural and TICKETS to exit, pedestrians are invited to meander along a web of structural needs when building a new home. Free intersecting pathways drawn on the floor. Each pathway A new partnership between Emily Carr University of Art corresponds with real roads and routes in the world - Ramallah + Design and MOSAIC (Immigrant Settlement Services) to Jerusalem, Lahore to Srinagar, the legendary Silk Road… supports student and client collaborations that explore issues As in life, every one of these roads has crossroads, checkpoints of belonging. Students study within a framework of Social and impediments - a tile on the floor offers an instruction a Practice and Community Engagement (SPACE minor within suggestion or an obstruction. The road you are following to the Faculty of Culture + Community) and work within the Jerusalem might suddenly meet the road to Samarkhand, and varied service areas of MOSAIC: Employment Services, a new destination beckons! Or you find yourself ‘blocked’ Language classes, community conversation circles, Refugee and forced to retrace your steps and take an alternate route. Youth programming. The diverse communities of MOSAIC and Conceived by renowned artist and graphic novelist Orijit Sen, ECUAD understand the inspiring multiplicity as well as the and realized by multidisciplinary artist Sanket Jadia, this is a challenges of dislocation and through this partnership unpack public art piece that is both welcoming and provocative. the complexity of these immigration experiences.
SANKET ORIJIT WANJUN OLIVIA DANICA JADIA S E N LIANG CHABER NORTON
COMMUNITY PARTNERS COMMUNITY PARTNERS
25 26 July 6 - Aug 6 Merchant of Images Echo2 June 13 - Aug 13 “I ask myself often, is home a person, place or thing? “Kher offers an alternative version of energised WHERE WHEN I think it’s both person and place. The “actual” thing – anarchy” – THE NEW STATESMAN Various bus shelters not so much. But the memory, the longing, the loss, is All day, everyday around Vancouver more than the object itself.” – ARADHANA SETH In a special public art project for Indian Summer Festival and the Vancouver Art Gallery, renowned contemporary artist WHERE TICKETS In 2015 award-winning art director and production designer Bharti Kher playfully transforms a Vancouver city bus into a A TransLink bus traveling Free Aradhana Seth created a project titled “the Merchant of (literally) moving work of art. through Downtown Images” for Indian Summer Festival. Seth built a mobile photo ‘Echo2 is a piece that has been previously shown in a different Vancouver & booth, much like those used by Indian street vendors. Setting avatar at major venues like London’s Serpentine Gallery. surrounding areas up shop at various locations in the city, Seth invited passersby Comprised of hundreds of concentric and overlapping bindis, to be photographed against the magnificent backdrop of TICKETS the result is a work that is both formalist and wildly exuberant. her booth (a painting of the Taj Mahal created by the artist Even when stationary it is almost as if the work - and its Free CO-PRESENTER who worked on the sets of Wes Anderson’s Darjeeling hundreds of bindis - are incapabale of standing still. Limited, which Seth art directed). The project encouraged pedestrian traffic to slow down, to remember a time when Kher uses the ready-made bindi as a central motif in her being photographed meant sitting in a given place and a work. The bindi (Sanskrit word for dot/point/zero/unity) is conversation with the photographer. The result was a mapping traditionally worn on the foreheads of Hindu women. What
project for the faces and places of Vancouver. was once vermilion powder has transformed in modern times CO-PRESENTER into an easy to use stick-on-vinyl sold cheaply in corner stores SUPPORTING PARTNER Now, a selection of Seth’s photographs of Vancouverites return across India. In Kher’s work, the bindi transforms from a tiny, to the streets of the city– this time on a series of bus shelters mass-produced ornament into a powerful stylistic and symbolic throughout Vancouver. device, creating visual richness and allowing for a multiplicity * For latest information on locations please visit www.indiansummerfest.ca of meanings. Look out for Kher’s ‘Echo2’ bus as it weaves through the streets of Vancouver this summer! SUPPORTING PARTNER
ARADHANA SETH
FUNDER BHARTI KHER
27 28 TUESDAY WEDNESDAY July 12 When Morning let’s heal the July 13 Comes divide WHEN WHEN 6pm Youth of the Soweto Uprising Artist Talk 6pm
WHERE WHERE Tradewind Books launches ‘When Morning Comes’, a novel ‘let’s heal the divide’ is a site-specific work for VCC Heartwood Café by Arushi Raina – a powerful emerging literary talent. Told Downtown Campus that reflects upon the history and current Victory Square Park from the perspectives of four diverse youth during the Soweto conditions of Vancouver and addresses the socio-economic, 317 East Broadway Ave. 150 W Hastings St. uprising in Apartheid South political and cultural points of disconnect present in the area. The site-specific neon work, hung on the façade TICKETS TICKETS Africa, the book explores the roots of the uprising and the of the Vancouver Community College building, marks a Free edifice of Apartheid about to explode. This evening at Free physical division between the Downtown East Side and community hub Heartwood Café includes a presentation by the commercial and financial districts that border it. The South African journalist and photographer Laurence Boxall, location of this work highlights the glaring economic disparity who reported on the ground during the Soweto Uprising. between neighbourhoods and acts as an intersection This event is presented by Tradewind Books in collaboration between perceived borders. It marks a physical division CO-PRESENTER with Indian Summer Festival in keeping with the festival’s 2016 CO-PRESENTER between one of the most impoverished postal codes in theme of ‘Border Crossings’. Canada and one of the wealthiest. The artwork prompts us to question the sometimes arbitrary lines that divide us. In the spirit of hope, this piece calls for action, collective healing, connectivity, and inclusion. Join us as the artist, Toni Latour, speaks about her work as part of Indian Summer Festival 2016. Toni Latour is an East Vancouver queer feminist artist who works in photography, installation, text-based practices, drawing, video, sound, public and performance art.
ARUSHI RAINA
TONI LATOUR
COMMUNITY PARTNER
29 30 SATURDAY SATURDAY July 16 F-Grass Engagement July 16
WHEN Many Vancouverites do not know that thanks to the Vancouver On the edge of the sea, in beautiful Sunset Beach Park in WHEN 4pm Biennale, our city hosts a public art piece by Ai Weiwei. Ai Vancouver’s West End, stand two giant engagement rings, 6pm Weiwei is one of the most influential artist/activists of our time. rising nearly 30 feet from the ground. Created by Dennis WHERE Using ordinary grass as a metaphor, he creates a blockade of Oppenheim, one of the most influential and respected artists WHERE F-Grass Sculpture cast-iron spikes. From above, the individual blades collectively of our era, ‘Engagement’ references traditional rings in a Sunset Beach Park take the shape of an elegant calligraphic “F”. Each blade is Pop Art form where everyday domestic objects are taken 1204 Beach Ave. Harbour Green Park symbolic of countless ordinary individuals who collectively out of their ordinary environment and re-conceptualized as 1199 West Cordova St. become a resilient, powerful force. In China, the character for monumental sculptures. The plexiglass ‘diamonds’ that top TICKETS “grass” is pronounced the same as the F-word obscenity. the rings tip slightly away from each other –a commentary TICKETS on the precarious balances in marriage. The meaning of Free Grass is small and fragile, humble and flexible, yet it is strong ‘Engagement is intentionally open-ended. It asks us to consider Free and persistent, even rises faster for being stepped on. The the romantic, traditional, economic and social aspects courage shown by ordinary individuals in everyday acts of inherent in the institution of marriage. The initial installation in rebellion collectively become a force to be reckoned with. the 2005-2007 Vancouver Biennale coincided with same-sex CO-PRESENTER For this special public event, two artists from the Indian Summer marriage debates taking place in Canada. CO-PRESENTER Festival – novelist/activists Karim Alrawi and Monia Mazigh Join us as internationally acclaimed writers Sandip Roy and respond to Ai Weiwei’s work, and take the opportunity to talk Minal Hajratwala respond to ‘Engagement’ with their own about the Syrian refugee crisis, an issue that Ai Weiwei has writings and thoughts and provoke a discussion around the been focusing on of late. Alrawi will read from his address installation and the issues it raises. Roy and Hajratwala are ‘A Way to Truth’ that he previously delivered to introduce Ai also speakers on the ISF 2016 panel – ‘Don’t Let Them Know: Weiwei at Art Basel. Stay on for tea and a chance to interact SUPPORTING PARTNER Love, Sexuality and the South Asian Family (p. 12)’. with Karim Alrawi and Monia Mazigh. F Grass is the continuation of Ai Weiwei’s large-scale installation “Sunflower Seeds” made for Tate Modern in 2010.
A I KARIM MONIA MINAL SANDIP DENNIS WEIWEI ALRAWI MAZIGH HAJRATWALA ROY OPPENHEIM
HOSPITALITY PARTNER HOSPITALITY PARTNER
31 32 MAKE AN IMPACT Join Our Patrons Circle
The festival depends on people like you who have felt the exhilarating power of our work and want others to experience it too. Patrons’ donations make a profound difference to the festival’s success, and touch the lives of artists and audiences alike. With your donation of $500+, you join our Patrons’ Circle and enjoy numerous benefits, including exclusive invitations to festival galas and Patrons’ Circle events, festival tickets packages, Featured Artists/Speakers 2016 charitable tax receipts, VIP experiences, recognition, and more.
Carmen Aguirre Deepa Mehta Waris Ahluwalia Ameen Merchant Patrons Circle Events Karim Alrawi Tarun Nayar
As a thank you to our generous patrons, we invite you to join us DJ Anjali Danica Norton as at these exclusive Patrons’ Circle events and gain an insider’s Mohamed Assani Dennis Oppenheim experience of the festival. Laurence Boxall Jonny Østrem Surya Brass Band Arushi Raina PRE-GALA COCKTAILS & FESTIVAL PREVIEW Olivia Chaber Sonja Rainey With Artistic Director Sirish Rao Sammy Chien Shane Raman Thursday July 7, 6pm - Roundhouse Community Centre Gillian Cofsky Sandip Roy VANCOUVER ART GALLERY LEADERSHIP Scheherazaad Cooper Devyani Saltzman OPENING – MATTER Sharada Eswar Orijit Sen by Bharti Kher Sara Fitzpatrick Dr. Vandana Shiva Friday July 8, 7pm - Vancouver Art Gallery Prem Gill Vivek Shraya Minal Hajratwala Rup Sidhu Romi Chandra Herbert Ashwin Sood Join our circle at visit indiansummerfest.ca/join-us Sanket Jadia Veena Sood or contact Shahaa Kakar at [email protected] or (604) 283-9172 Dr. Rajiv Jhangiani Kinnie Starr Rajasthan Josh The Incredible Kid Naomi Joy Truth Be Told Theatre Laura June Leslee Udwin Toni Latour Vikram Vij Wanjun Liang Ai Weiwei Elizabeth May Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas Dr. Monia Mazigh Sarah Mclachlan School Of Music Youth Choir
33 33 34 About Us
Indian Summer is a meteorological phenomenon referring to ADDRESS an unexpectedly sunny period, and consistently above normal 203 – 268 Keefer St. temperatures. The term can also be used metaphorically to Vancouver, BC V6A1X5
mean a renaissance, or revival. PHONE (FROM LEFT) BIKKI, ALEXA, SANDY, LAURA A, SHAHAA, Indian Summer is a festival for global souls who believe in the 604 283 9172 GILLIAN, LAURA B, SIRISH, MIMI transformative power of the arts. Our vision is for an inclusive, GENERAL INQUIRIES diverse, and culturally-rich society. [email protected] In 2011 we established Indian Summer Arts Society (ISAS), a WEBSITE Vancouver-based not-for-profit arts organization, to offer multi- indiansummerfest.ca Our Team Board of Directors disciplinary arts experiences that bring together diverse artists and audiences in a spirit of dialogue. Laura Byspalko Co-Founder & Managing Director For ten days every July, we put on Indian Summer Festival, a Sirish Rao Co-Founder & Artistic Director platform for some of the finest artists and visionaries from Shahaa Kakar Donor Relations & Development Manager Canada, South Asia and beyond. From novelists to DJs, social entrepreneurs to Bollywood stars, we present emerging artists Indian Summer Festival is produced Laura Albert Event Outreach & Volunteer Manager by Indian Summer Arts Society, CAROLINE A Y M E S H A R M A , alongside Nobel, Booker, Grammy and Oscar prize-winners. a not-for-profit charitable arts Mimi Abrahams Production Manager NEUFELD, CHAIR SECRETARY organization based in Vancouver, Now in our sixth year, we have quickly established ourselves Canada. Society Number Gillian Cofsky Bookkeeper & Office Manager in Vancouver as the place where worlds meet. 808864409RR0001 Sandy Manj Communications Manager Alexa Lupul Communications Designer Genevieve Anne Michaels Communications Assistant JOIN THE CONVERSATION. #WHEREWORLDSMEET Larissa Canapi Social Media Assistant BALJEET BASI, MANDEEP R. Bikki Singh Festival Ambassador TREASURER DHALIWAL IndianSummerCND Indian Summer Festival Canada Alexis Douglas Volunteer Coordinator Reshma Balkaran Volunteer Coordinator IndianSummerCanada Indian Summer Festival Canada Ishita Hayer Event Coordinator IndianSummerFestival Roopa Mann Production Coordinator Ella Canning Artist Services Assistant NAVEEN S H E L L Y Zain Mohsin Production Assistant GIRN DHAWAN Josh Kamin Production Assistant Katie Applebaum Production Assistant BECOME A MEMBER Sanman Grewal Production Assistant Marco Fratarcangeli Production Assistant You’re Amazing. We’re Amazing. Guy Ouellette Logistics Let’s Be Amazing Together.
One of the best things about ISF is the amazing festival community that comes together. 2016 Advisory Council Don’t wait another 364 days to enjoy the buzz and connection! With your donation of $25+, you become a member of the Indian Summer Arts Society and receive lots of Pankaj Agarwal Deepa Mehta Ratana Stephens great benefits, including invitations to exclusive year-round events like our Supper Clubs. Vik Khanna Sandy Garossino Dr. Michael Stevenson Become a member now: indiansummerfest.ca/join-us Sukesh Kumar Jas Sandhu Vikram Vij
35 36 Acknowledgments Accessible Indian Summer
In addition to our patrons, sponsors, advisors and team, the festival has At the heart of Indian Summer Festival is a desire for dialogue and the been made possible with the support of many well-wishers whom we possibility for an inclusive community that is diverse, creative and just. We acknowledge with deep gratitude: aim to create accessible, barrier-free experiences for the widest possible communities to engage fully in these conversations.
MOBILITY ACCESS 100% of Indian Summer Festival’s 2016 indoor Alice Fleerackers MEDIA RELATIONS WE REMEMBER venues are accessible to people using mobility aids, including wide and flat Jive Communications We are deeply saddened to Ammar Mahimwala entrances, access to ramps/elevators where necessary, wheelchair and scooter have lost an irreplaceable ACCOUNTING SERVICES accessible washrooms, and assigned seating. Certain venues have specific Anisha Virani member of our community this BCJ Group entrance and washroom information for people with mobility aids; please see Barrie Mowatt year – long time patron Jab event descriptions at www.indiansummerfest.ca for venue-specific information. BOX OFFICE Sidhoo, founder of East India Please note that a small number of our free events are outdoors in public parks. Charlie Smith EventBrite Carpets. We remember Jab’s Reserve an accessible seat for any festival event online, by phone at 604 283
Damaris Galvez TECHNICAL SUPPORT indomitable spirit, his support 9172 (ext 1), or by email at [email protected]. Please contact us if you have questions related to accessibility at outdoor events. Dana & Joel Solomon Tech Butlers Support Ltd. and beaming presence at ISF events and the many legacies Diana Freundl COMMUNITY PARTNERS he has left for all of us to COMMUNITY TICKETING Free tickets are available for populations Banyen Books served by social services organizations and to community organizations Divya Tolath enjoy. His children Ravi and whose members face economic barriers. To find out more or to request Emily Carr University of Art Asha continue to impact the James Lombardi - Minded tickets for your group, please contact Outreach Manager Laura Albert at and Design larger community with the Projects [email protected]. MOSAIC Immigrant same generosity of spirit that Laura Martinez Settlement Services Jab was legendary for. Our INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY TICKETING Free or reduced-price tickets Laura Moore thoughts and good wishes are available for indigenous community groups to attend Indian Summer Zulu Records are with them. Festival events. To request tickets for your group, please contact Outreach Milad Monfared SFU Department of Gender, Manager Laura Albert at [email protected]. Nuba Catering Sexuality & Women’s Studies The schedule, artists and performers may change without notice. We FREE PROGRAMMING Our 2016 free program has grown tremendously Olivia Chaber Mawenzi House apologize to anyone we may have in terms of depth and range of content and presentation. We have lovingly missed in the program. Omissions are Peter Kendall Heartwood Cafe curated eight free art experiences for our 2016 program, ranging from inadvertent or due to print deadlines. presentations by international and local artists, to participatory and interactive Ravi Sidhoo PHOTOGRAPHERS visual art installations. Please see our events for details at indiansummerfest.ca. Kristine Cofsky Please see our website for the most Raymond Decor up-to-date details: LGBTQIA2+ INCLUSIVITY Indian Summer Festival strives to foster a Rup Sidhu Britney Gill indiansummerfest.ca respectful and comfortable space for all people attending ISF events, by Scovia Maeko VIDEOGRAPHERS discussing themes of gender identity and sexuality in our program content, Stephen Morgan inviting diverse communities to attend, and by providing trans-inclusive Vantage Point Mackenzie Warner bathrooms at as many venues as possible. Please note that a small number of Vivian Leung our free events are outdoors in public parks, without venue-specific bathrooms VOLUNTEERS available to us. WanJun Liang Thank you to all the dedicated Zoe Kreye volunteers who have given so HEARING ASSISTANCE Infrared and loop hearing assist services are generously of their time and available during certain performances for guests who are deaf or hard of energy to make this festival hearing. Please see event descriptions for event-specific information. possible!
37 38 FOUNDING PARTNER
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