A Message from Artistic & Executive Director Norman Armour

November 12, 2014

Welcome to the 2015 PuSh International Performing Arts Festival. Have a read. Make your list, and perhaps choose something a little unfamiliar. PuSh is nothing if not an adventure. As the Festival faces the prospect of a second decade, I too hope to encounter the unfamiliar, the unknown.

PuSh is moving its headquarters into the heart of Vancouver’s downtown and bringing with us our very own special brand of live arts. In time for this year’s Festival, we’ll take up residence in a collocated space at 750 Hamilton Street with three of Vancouver’s most trusted arts organizations: Touchstone Theatre, DOXA Documentary Film Festival and Music on Main.

As the saying goes, “It’s a game changer!” And not just for the co-tenants and PuSh, but for the city too. The tenancy is a public declaration of sorts, situating the arts at the centre of our communal future, the city’s civic and social life, its economic wellbeing and collective identity.

The horizon has shifted. The new facilities and neighborhood call for a new vision for our organization. And while it’s too early to know what exactly lays ahead for PuSh, the truly exciting proposition is precisely that we don’t know—the unexpected and undiscovered realm of the possible awaits us. The synergistic opportunities for creative residency, for new collaborations and new partnerships are limitless. I invite you to watch, observe and ultimately step forward to participate, animate, lend your support, and seize the moment with us.

We can all think of an “overnight success” that was in actuality many years in the making. I like to think of our new home as a long, simmering triumph. This January we glimpse into what unknown possibilities might lie ahead for the PuSh Festival’s next 10 years. What’s for certain? As with our glorious first decade, we promise to knock your socks off!

Norman Armour
Artistic & Executive Director