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 to the newly created role of Director of Public Engagement & Learning at the Vancouver Art Gallery, a position he currently holds.

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. 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), The Museum of London and the Jaipur Literature Festival.

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. Under his leadership, the organization received the Lt. Governor’s Arts and Music Award and the Pan-Asian Recognition award. Sirish is also a published writer, whose books have been translated into twenty languages and have won several international awards. He has been a Writer-in-Residence at the University of Kent, Canterbury and Simon Fraser University, Vancouver.

Sirish has been named “One of 20 Most Influential South Asians in Vancouver” (Urban Asian), and received a Lifetime Achievement Award (Hari Sharma Foundation) for his contributions to social and economic justice through the arts. Sirish contributes to his community by serving on boards and councils of several institutions. He is Vice-Chair of the Vancouver Foundation, Co-Chair of Simon Fraser University’s India Advisory Council, a Board Director of the Vancouver International Film Festival, and an Adivsory Council member for the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC. He is a mentor to many young scholars and arts workers, and currently serves as a mentor with the Loran Scholars Foundation.