Vancouverâs PuSh International Performing Arts festival: Five performances to see The annual event has been severely affected by the pandemic and organizational restructuring controversy, but the show will go on
Author of the article: Stuart Derdeyn
Publishing date: Jan 26, 2021  â¢Â January 26, 2021  â¢Â 2 minute read  â¢Â Oud player/guitarist/composer/bandleader Gordon Grdina had a prolific 2020, releasing a number of solo recordings as well as appearing on equally Brazilian-American tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelmanâs The Purity of Desire. Photo by Handout /PNG files
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by Charlie Smith on January 21st, 2021 at 9:47 AM 1 of 1 2 of 1
Like many cultural organizations, the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival has been forced to innovate because provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has banned social gatherings until February 5.
Here are four ways this is being done.
Board Table Disruption
(February 3, online)
Neworld Theatre s Marcus Youssef, lawyer Martha Rans, playwright Yvette Nolan, and nonprofit capacity builder Mark Friesen will hold a roundtable discussion online on addressing governance issues facing nonprofit groups.
I Swallowed a Moon Made of Iron
(February 4 to 6, online)
Music Picnic artistic producer Njo Kong Kie brings together voice, piano, and video in a multimedia cry of protest for workers around the world.
NOW critics pick the best virtual events happening in Toronto and beyond this winter.
DesignTO
Kicking off with an online party featuring Maylee Todd, and DJs Fly Lady Di and Sigourney Beaver, the annual design festival is going “distanced and digital.” That means there will be 30 virtual digital projects (both free and ticketed), as well as window displays around town. Panels will focus on the city of Detroit, inclusive design and whether Canada needs a national architecture policy. •
Hot Docs Podcast Festival
Hot Docs’ annual weekend of aural pleasure might be limited to streaming this year, but the 2021 edition will still endeavour to expand the experience and appreciation of audio storytelling, offering Q&As with creators and hosts from shows like Pod Save America, Radio-lab, 99% Invisible and Reply All. (We’re looking forward to Pop Chat’s Elamin Abdelmahmoud and You’re Wrong About’s Sarah Marshall discussing the rise of pop-culture nostalgia.) •
by Charlie Smith on January 16th, 2021 at 8:18 AM 1 of 1 2 of 1
An arts community backlash appears to explain why two high-profile theatre directors have decided to back away from a series of events at this year s PuSh International Performing Arts Festival.
PuSh Rally curators Marcus Youssef and Maiko Yamamoto, along with producer Dani Fecko, said in a statement that they are stepping down from our contracts , effective immediately.
They acknowledged that since they released the PuSh Rally program, they ve received a lot of feedback from people we respect about what we planned and how we framed it . This included artists withdrawing from the Rally program, they stated. While we understand this information might be out of context for those who are not local arts workers, we have come to believe that what we programmed is actually hindering attempts to resolve conflict.