Am Johal steps into new role as executive artistic director of Indian Summer Festival

Former director of SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement was the fest’s curator-in-residence for 2025

INDIAN SUMMER FESTIVAL has just appointed Am Johal as its new executive artistic director, joining executive managing director Laura June Albert in a co-leadership model.

Johal was curator-in-residence for the 2025 Indian Summer Festival, whose theme was “Borderless Solidarities”. Before that, from 2020 to 2023, he served as chair of the festival society’s board of directors.

A cultural leader, writer, and community builder, Johal was previously director of SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement and founded and hosted the Below the Radar podcast, a show that fostered dialogue between diverse cultural communities. He has published four books with collaborators.

“I’m thrilled to be carrying on with the Indian Summer Festival—a space that has continually redefined what a festival for South Asian arts can be,” Johal said in today’s announcement. “The festival’s spirit of curiosity, equity, and artistic excellence resonates deeply with me.”

In his new role, Johal will guide the festival’s artistic vision and curatorial direction.

The festival was founded in 2011 by Sirish Rao and Laura Byspalko as a platform for South Asian arts and culture that sparks intercultural dialogue, hosting a cross-disciplinary range of music, literary events, dance, visual arts, and more. Rao and Byspalko stepped down in 2023.

As it prepares for its upcoming season, Indian Summer Festival will present leading South Asian and diasporic artists, initiate provocative intercultural conversation, and highlight accessibility and inclusion as part of the richness of Metro Vancouver’s cultural ecology.

Indian Summer Festival is set to return for its 16th edition in July 2026.

Featured

Janet Smith

Janet Smith is founding partner and editorial director of Stir. She is a Webster Award–winning arts journalist who has spent more than three decades immersed in Vancouver’s performing arts, film, and gallery scenes. She sits on the Vancouver Film Critics’ Circle.

Articles

At Come Toward the Fire, singer-songwriter Logan Staats values connections—to both audiences and other Indigenous artists

The Mohawk musician’s career trajectory has taken him from bar shows to The Launch to Nashville, but he’s always stayed grounded in his Six Nations community

Chutzpah! Festival unveils 2026 programming, with actor Ari’el Stachel, comedian Jacob Samuel, dance artist Meghann Michalsky, and more

The 26th annual edition spans theatre, dance, comedy, and music from November 3 to 15

At Vancouver Latin American Film Festival, Mayra Hermosillo discovers empathy on both sides of camera

Mexican actor and first-time feature director reflects on the powers of film to find the universal in the local and reveal new sides of an artist’s personality

Vancouver Latin American Film Festival kicks off with A Loose End on September 10

Writer-director Daniel Hendler’s feature blends elements of noir and comedy to tell the tale of a mild-mannered cop on the run from corrupt colleagues

Western Gold Theatre's Have A Senior Moment Festival opens with Anniversary, September 25 to 27

A staged reading of Carol Shields and Dave Williamson‘s comedy takes a sharp look at life and love in middle-class suburbia

Film reviews: Powerful documentaries and dimsum pleasures at Vancouver Queer Film Festival

Saving Etting Street looks at an inspiring building project in Baltimore; “Egg Yolk Custard Bun (奶黃包)” features full-bodied food performances; and What Will I Become takes a moving look behind the statistics of trans suicide

Jesse Eisenberg’s The Debut to open Vancouver International Film Festival, while Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine to close it

Amid today’s full programming announcement of more than 160 features, DEVO icon Mark Mothersbaugh is added to VIFF Live lineup

Renfrew Ravine Moon Festival celebrates the small wonders of local nature, September 7 to 26

The 24th annual event culminates in a five-hour journey featuring the Harvest Fair, Twilight Lantern Procession, and Streamside Lanterns

Chan Centre hosts Indigenous cultural festival ʔəm̓i ce:p xʷiwəl Come Toward the Fire, September 18 to 20

Fifth-annual festival features learning opportunities, a full day of free activities, and a concert headlined by Juno Award–winning artist Aysanabee

Richmond Maritime Festival sets sail for Steveston, August 22 and 23

The event’s 23rd edition brings two days of live music, historic boats, cultural workshops, and more

Vancouver Latin American Film Festival presents bold, boundary-pushing cinema, September 10 to 20

Lineup opens with cop-on-the-run comedy A Loose End and closes with Vainilla, renowned Mexican actor Mayra Hermosillo’s directorial debut

Be(ing) Moss closes the Vines Art Festival with a meditation on humanity’s place in the natural world

The piece by Soya and Chantal is “a kind of ancestral experience ritual” that invites attendees to join in the stillness and subtle, meditative movement

Vancouver Flamenco Festival unveils vibrant lineup for 36th edition, September 19 to 27

Highlights include a collaboration between Spanish guest artist Víctor Fernández and Flamenco Rosario, free outdoor performances, and more

Vancouver Youth Choir takes it outside for Music on Main’s Summer Pop-Up Concerts series

Artistic director and founder Carrie Tennant says the choir helps its young members make authentic human connections in an era when that is more challenging than ever

Friday nights in August, Tightrope Theatre brings improv yuks to Bard After Dark

The weekly cabaret-style experience includes drinks, music, and comedy from a rotating cast of Tightrope’s finest improvisers

Stir Cheat Sheet: 5 events you won’t want to miss during the 12th annual Vines Art Festival

Live music, contemporary dance, drag performances, storytelling, circus arts, and a whole lot more hit Vancouver’s parks and beaches

Astro Arts Festival celebrates the spirit of street art with new murals and a gallery show, August 7 to 9

Hosted by the Astro Club Artist facility, the event—now in its second year—continues to pick up where the Vancouver Mural Festival left off

A music, film, and literary pick for the Powell Street Festival, August 1 and 2 in and around Paueru Gai

Sharon Minemoto Quartet concert, 1910: The Uncovering documentary screening, and Masako Fukawa reading are just a few of the events digging into deeper history amid the celebrations

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Powell Street Festival stays true to its legacy

Retaining its spirit of community and resistance, the long-running arts festival returns to Paueru Gai for a milestone weekend of food, performances, and storytelling

VIFF Live announces 2026 program of film screenings, immersive concerts, and “reworlding”

The series includes appearances by Canadian and international artists, including throat-singing duo Silla, composer Kelly Moran, and experimental rock act Xiu Xiu

Early Music Vancouver artist in residence Marc Mauillon loves the challenge of 17th-century opera

Tackling the title role in Monteverdi’s Orfeo as part of EMV’s Summer Festival requires a different approach, the French singer says—and a willingness to push beyond beautiful singing

Stir Cheat Sheet: 5 must-see acts at the Mission Folk Music Festival, July 24 to 26

Brass-band fusion, soul-stirring singer-songwriters, fiery fiddle, and more spread across the fest’s five stages on the scenic shores of the Fraser River

Music review: Main Stage highlights from Day 1 of the Vancouver Folk Music Festival

Stellar sets from Aysanabee, Hazlett, and Sahra Halgan got the 49th annual fest off to a great start, and the weather certainly didn’t hurt

Theatre review: Gleefully chaotic Goblins dismantle Oedipus at Bard on the Beach

Wug, Kravga, and Moog deliver a take on Sophocles’ Greek tragedy that, in addition to copious amounts of crude humour, has its share of chillingly effective moments

Vancouver’s socially conscious Buddie on evolving its sound beyond “grunge pop”

Performing at the Eastside Arts Festival, the indie-rock band says it has no intention of being pegged as strictly a ’90s throwback

At the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, the eclectic Valerie June promises a little bit of everything

The American singer-songwriter plays rock ’n’ roll, blues, folk, gospel, and country, along with well-chosen cover versions of songs by Nick Cave, Gillian Welch, and Duran Duran