Borderless Solidarities
2025 Curatorial Theme
With the closures of thought all around us in an era of hardened borders, resurgent strains of authoritarianism and violent expulsions, the urgency to think and live otherwise intensifies. In an unravelling world, we invoke an audacious and unfashionable idea – an insurgent solidarity that refuses the inertias of this troubled time.
We hold deviously to the idea that the world of arts and culture bears the distinctive power to unfold a possible countersignature to the present hour. Through acts of deep hospitality and breathing together, we intend to fracture the inevitability of the inherited storyline and ricochet into public encounters of the possible.
We ask, how can we be together today? What is the time of dreaming? How to amplify the whispered gestures of the periphery? To listen well. To move beyond estrangement. To laugh, to gather, to persist in the face of impunity. To court the ecstatic trance. To disappear and reappear. To reinhabit the capacity to touch and feel. To assemble a brief refuge for the imperishable, a defense of the sensual. A bumpy carriage ride where both tradition and change have room for maneuver. An open door to the stranger, the neighbour and the passerby. Always an insistence on promiscuous alliances and borderless solidarities. To leave open the possibility of the possibility of something new.
Welcome to the Indian Summer Festival 2025. Bring your friends.
Today is the evening to strike lightning / Aaj To Bijiliyan Girane Ki Shaam Hai
Justine A. Chambers and Simran Sachar’s first choreographic collaboration is an act of devotion that collapses Waacking, choreographic scores, and gestures sourced from memories and images of their mothers dancing. Today is the evening to strike lightning is a poetic consideration of dances past in order to surface what has been submerged over time.
A Raucous Evening with Kiran Deol
Vancouver, get ready to laugh your face off. Kiran Deol—comedian, actor, writer, and all-around badass—is bringing her signature blend of sharp wit, unfiltered honesty, and South Asian realness to the stage for a one-night-only comedy blowout. You’ve seen her on NBC’s Sunnyside, heard about her Emmy nomination and Oscar shortlist, and now you get to see her live, up close, and hilariously personal. This isn’t just stand-up—it’s comedy with guts.
Alam Khan In Concert
An evening with Alam Khan is a soul-stirring journey through the sounds of Indian classical music, led by one of the most respected sarod players of our time. Alam Khan, son of the legendary Swara Samrat Ali Akbar Khan, is bringing his signature blend of emotional depth and masterful technique to Surrey—joined by the incredible Eman Hashimi on tabla.
Meet the Artists
We see artists as 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 present acclaimed international and local artists, connecting Vancouver to itself and the world. Curating through a South Asian lens, we center the exciting work of culturally diverse artists.
