Sirish Rao is an arts leader, writer, and cultural innovator with deep connections to the international arts world. A trained Himalayan mountain guide, Sirish seeks adventure, embraces risk, and holds a deep respect for the natural world in all the work he does. He delights in creating brave spaces for dialogue that simultaneously nurture and provoke, and believes that art is a healing and transformative force. In 2023, Sirish was appointed Director of Public Engagement and Learning at the Vancouver Art Gal
Sirish was born and raised in Bangalore, India and spent a decade as Director of Tara Books, growing it from a startup into one of India’s most awarded publishing houses. Sirish is also a published writer, whose books have been translated into twenty languages and have won several international awards. In the course of his career, Sirish has collaborated with a wide range of international cultural institutions including the J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles), The Frankfurt Book Fair, Kunsthal (Rotterdam), T
Sirish moved to Vancouver in 2010, and co-founded the Indian Summer Festival with his partner Laura Byspalko, leading its growth to become Canada’s preeminent presenter of South Asian art and thought. In his role as Founding Artistic Director, Sirish presented more than a thousand artists on the stages of the festival, in a roster that features Nobel, Booker, Grammy and Oscar Award-winning artists alongside exciting emerging talent.