AROOJ AFTAB
Oct
25

AROOJ AFTAB

Declared “the coolest rock star in the world right now” by UNCUT, and known for her arresting mix of jazz, pop, blues, folk, and Urdu poetry, Arooj Aftab is a Grammy-winning and seven-time Grammy nominated artist. In 2022, she became the first Pakistani artist to win a Grammy for Best Global Music Performance for “Mohabbat”.

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Kiran Desai in Conversation
Oct
26

Kiran Desai in Conversation

  • Granville Island Stage on Granville Island (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Fans of Kiran Desai’s work have been eagerly awaiting a new novel for nearly 20 years. Her 2006 book, The Inheritance of Loss, won both the Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Masterpieces take time, and it was undeniably worth waiting for The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, which has once again earned her a nomination for The Booker Prize.

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ganavya
Nov
18

ganavya

Hailed by The Wall Street Journal as “among modern music’s most compelling vocalists,” ganavya is a boundary-defying artist whose voice and vision transcend genre. For her Vancouver debut at the Chan Centre, she performs music from Nilam—a luminous new work that coalesces lullaby, poetry, and prayer into powerful, poignant music.

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Ali Sethi
Oct
19

Ali Sethi

A master of microtonal singing, Sethi’s music is a rich fusion of traditional qawwali, ghazals, and modern innovation. Following “Pasoori,” he collaborated with electronic producer Nicolás Jaar on Intiha, a “moving tribute to the multiplicity of identity,” (Pitchfork) which premiered to a sold-out crowd at the Chan Centre in November 2024.

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Rishta
Jul
13

Rishta

Step into a living archive of Punjabi expression at Rishta, a vibrant afternoon where poetry, music, memory, and community converge. Featuring voices from across generations, this event honours a rich literary legacy from Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji to emerging artists. Come be part of the story, a shared journey through centuries of poetic fire and the hearts that keep it burning.

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Alam Khan In Concert
Jul
12

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.

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Lecture/Demonstration
Jul
11

Lecture/Demonstration

Meet the artists! Join Alam Khan and tabla player Eman Hashimi for an intimate lecture-demonstration exploring Indian classical music and the rhythmic voice of the sarod.

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Horizons
Jul
10

Horizons

Horizons is a luminous evening of music, poetry, and storytelling featuring award-winning artists who offer vision, sanctuary, and solidarity in fractured times. With performances by Vivek Shraya, Kimmortal, Mohanad El Eek, Brandon Wint with Feven Kidane, and Cecily Nicholson with Sejal Lal, this one-night gathering transcends genre—part concert, part invocation.

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Radical Possibility in the Age of Impunity
Jul
9

Radical Possibility in the Age of Impunity

This urgent conversation, moderated by ISF Curator-in-Residence Am Johal, brings together renowned thinkers Glen Coulthard, Brenna Bhandar, and Alberto Toscano to explore the power of radical philosophy and theory—and what they offer to today’s political and conceptual struggles.

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Artist Roundtable
Jul
9

Artist Roundtable

What does it mean to be an artist in this present hour? This annual roundtable invites racialized artists and cultural organizers to gather in honest conversation about resilience, solidarity, and the power of creative resistance. Part panel, part collective dialogue—this is a space to share, connect, and reimagine.

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A Raucous Evening with Kiran Deol
Jul
8

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 and unfiltered honesty 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.

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Tiffin Talk: Artist as Healer
Jul
6

Tiffin Talk: Artist as Healer

Explore the healing potential of art, grief, and ritual in this long table Tiffin Talk with artists Varsha Gill and Shahir Krishna, joined by residency mentor Farheen Haq and moderator Pawan Deol. After the talk, enjoy a delicious warm lunch served in Indian-style tiffins and connect with fellow attendees.

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Tiffin Talk: IYKYK
Jul
6

Tiffin Talk: IYKYK

Museums and galleries are usually the first spaces where audiences encounter art. What if your initial experience with an artwork is not by looking but listening?  Through readings and conversation, writer, curator and art historian Sadia Shirazi, along with Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill and Nadia Shihab invites us to explore provenance, language, and postcolonial/Indigenous cosmologies.

Followed by a warm meal in Indian-style tiffins. ASL and live captioning available.

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Tiffin Talk: We Carry Her Name – A Gathering of Roots, Restoration, and Rising
Jul
6

Tiffin Talk: We Carry Her Name – A Gathering of Roots, Restoration, and Rising

An intimate gathering honouring ancestral lineages and matriarchal wisdom in Indigenous, Black, South Asian, and gender-expansive communities. With artists Justine Redila, Linsay Willier Kendall, and moderated by Suvi Bains, this gathering is a reflection and offering: a space to honor the ancestral lineages that birthed us, carried us, and continue to walk with us—followed by a warm meal in Indian-style tiffins.

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Today is the evening to strike lightning / Aaj To Bijiliyan Girane Ki Shaam Hai
Jul
5

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.

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Dyeing & Dying Exhibit
Jul
5
to Jul 13

Dyeing & Dying Exhibit

Dyeing and Dying marks the culmination of Varsha Gill and Shahir Krishna’s 2025 Artist as Healer residency with Indian Summer Festival. This installation emerges from a series of contemplative community workshops about death and dying held in Spring 2025. Open daily from July 5–13. Free to experience.

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Tell Me
Jul
5
to Jul 12

Tell Me

  • The Fishbowl on Granville Island (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Step into an intimate space. Share a secret. Hear the voices of others who’ve done the same. Tell Me is an immersive installation by Anamika Deb that invites you to come share your secrets privately. One person at a time enters the space, records a thought or confession, and listens to a chorus of anonymous stories in return. Open daily from July 5–12. Free to experience.

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Meet the Artists

Artists shape how we experience the world — and each event at Indian Summer Festival is shaped by their vision. These are the storytellers, musicians, and makers who bring our stages to life.

Alam Khan, a man playing a sarod, an Indian string instrument, against a dark background.
Vivek with light brown, blonde-streaked hair styled back, wearing a black lace top, gold earrings, black eyeshadow, and a small black dot on her forehead, posing against a black background.
Black and white photo of a South Asian women comedian holding a microphone on stage with stage lighting in the background.
ARTIST PROFILES