At Indian Summer Festival, Am Johal aims to bridge global and local voices in an increasingly disorienting world
From gardens to galleries and market plazas, fest increasingly takes its multidisciplinary works out to where the community gathers
Am Johal
Comedian Vidura Bandura Rajapaksa
writer and scholar Renisa Mawani
Indian Summer Festival takes place at venues around Metro Vancouver from July 9 to 19
WHETHER IT’S a concert by one of India’s fastest rising music stars or local artists and scholars discussing the effects of dispossession and exile, the Indian Summer Festival is back, gathering more than 90 artists to celebrate the ways arts festivals can foster connection in an increasingly fractured world.
Now in its 16th year, 2026’s festival theme is Ragas for a Ruptured World. For executive artistic director Am Johal, the theme, which references a classical Indian music tradition, not only honours the festival’s cultural roots, but opens the space to different disciplines and interpretations from its multidisciplinary lineup of artists.
“I think people feel really disoriented with the pace and volume of change that are unfolding, and as an arts and culture festival, we have a way of bringing people together that can form new types of solidarities,” says Johal in conversation with Stir. This is perhaps best captured in the festival’s 2026 curatorial statement, “In this time of monsters, come as you are. Build your mafia.”
Inviting emerging artists and those new to Vancouver has been a natural way to grow community and expand the festival’s presence. This year’s lineup showcases several artists performing in Vancouver for the first time, including popular Sri Lankan-born, London-based comedian Vidura Bandura Rajapaksa. He will perform during the festival’s opening celebration alongside Vancouver comedian Charlie Demers and interdisciplinary artist Priyanka “Piu” Chakrabarti. Punjabi singer, songwriter, and composer Rashmeet Kaur, known as one of India’s biggest rising stars, will also make her Vancouver debut as part of her introduction to North America.
In addition to its international headliners, the festival is also built by its local organizers and artists who have grown alongside the festival. An example of this is the popular Tiffin Talk series returning to Granville Island this year, several of which are led by renowned local talents; in xxxxxxx, writer and scholar Renisa Mawani and interdisciplinary artist Farheen Haq. Before joining the festival’s co-leadership alongside executive managing director Laura June Albert, Johal was one such community leader, whose involvement and contribution continued to grow year after year.
Johal was born in Williams Lake, B.C. before moving to Vancouver in the 90’s. He met festival founders Sirish Rao and Laura Byspalko while serving as director of SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement, becoming a key collaborator before joining its board of directors, and later serving as board chair from 2020 to 2023. He was Curator-in-Residence for the 2025 festival before his appointment as executive artistic director in November. Throughout it all, Johal’s extensive background in community organizing and outreach has been a natural asset in working with different artists and stakeholders.
“A lot of it is listening to the artistic visions of the artists to ensure that they have the best opportunity to succeed in the work they’re trying to make,” Johal explains. “My job is to be an advocate for that artistic vision inside of a project [where] we have to think about those pragmatic business aspects. If we lead with the artistic vision and support the artists in a really good way, we have the best outcome for audiences and the artists themselves, and I think that’s where we do our best work.”
Rather than asking audiences to gather in one central venue, Indian Summer Festival is increasingly meeting communities where they already gather. With the help of their event calendar and festival map, different offerings can be experienced across the Lower Mainland. Whether you are interested in veteran musician Tarun Nayar’s Modern Biology performance at VanDusen Botanical Garden, or Keerat Kaur’s upcoming exhibition If Gardens Could Dream at Surrey Arts Centre, the invitation is open to everyone. This year’s festivities will close on July 19 at Punjabi Market Plaza with an evening of music and poetry curated by Ruby Singh, and anchored by a qawwali performance from the musical ensemble Naqsh.
In a Vancouver summer dominated by FIFA’s presence, Johal is hopeful that residents and visitors will discover the many cultural experiences unfolding alongside the tournament’s spotlight.
“Without our audience we couldn’t exist as a festival,” says Johal. “Our audience is incredibly diverse in terms of what they want to see and the different artistic disciplines they’re interested in. I think particularly in this time [of] rising forms of authoritarianism that are seeking to divide people, arts and cultural festivals provide such an important place to think through complex ideas and unpack them in ways that produce new solidarities, because we need that more than ever.”
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