What PuSh Means to Me 

February 28, 2025

by Keltie Forsyth, Outgoing Director of Operations

This is my last week at PuSh. It both a sad and exciting time for me personally and for the organization. I’m thrilled knowing that the Festival is in Gabrielle and Annie’s capable hands because I believe deeply in what PuSh Festival does and means. 
 
I am a PuSh donor. I’m not going to stop being a donor when I’m no longer also on staff, and I’d like to tell you why.

This year, my favourite moment of the Festival was sitting in the audience at OUT, watching the faces of the PuSh Youth Cohort members light up as they saw a dance work that spoke to their experience. Last year, it was walking out of DARKMATTER and immediately purchasing tickets for the friends who had to see it the following night. And the funny thing is, both of these shows are dance, and I’ll be the first person to tell you, dance isn’t really my thing. 

I’m also a donor because PuSh was the first International Festival I attended when I was a young curator and artist in 2010. I still remember sitting in the audience at Theatre Replacement’s Clark and I Somewhere in Connecticut and thinking, “I didn’t know theatre could be this.” That was the first time I attended a performing arts industry conference and learned what it was like to be a part of a global community thinking and talking not only about the things that were on my mind, but things I hadn’t thought of yet. 

It’s almost impossible to overstate the importance of PuSh in my life as an artist and an audience member in the same way it’s almost impossible to overstate the significance of PuSh to Vancouver. PuSh connects our city, our artistic community and our audiences to the world. The Festival is a place for challenging conversations, for questioning our assumptions and most importantly, for collectively visioning a better future. 
 
And more than anything else, I need that right now. It is a scary time to be alive and sometimes the act of making art can feel small in the face of a changing world order. But it was at PuSh this year that I found hope. Because the artists in PuSh and the audiences who participated were with me in a profound act of resistance. We were daring to create the world we want in the face of cultural forces who want to drag us backward. 
 
Inspiration. Hope. Audacity. 
 
This is why PuSh is essential. This is why I donate. This is why you should too. 

Love,
Keltie

Photos: Sayna Ghaderi

After two incredible festivals together—filled with unforgettable moments, a fantastic team, and the odd crucible—it’s time to bid farewell to Keltie in her role as Director of Operations at PuSh. With passion, grace, and an unwavering dedication to this festival and its people, she led with both heart and strength. Keltie, your impact is lasting, your presence will be deeply missed, and Presentation House is so very lucky to have you. Thank you for everything.

– Gabrielle Martin, Artistic Director