UPDATE: the PuSh Rally has been CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19.

The PuSh International Performing Arts Festival has announced the lineup for its newly formed Push Rally, which runs from January 28 to February 6.

“The heart of PuSh has always been community, collaboration, and partnerships," says managing director Jason Dubois in a press release. "And while the challenges presented by the pandemic mean that we have had to cancel much of the original 2021 program, we continue to invest in the work of our partners and artists who were slated to be a part of the Festival...

"We also know the PuSh Rally--which will ask tough, but essential questions at a critical time within our organization and for our cultural community at large--will be of interest to the PuSh audience.”

The PuSh Rally is curated by Theatre Replacement’s Maiko Yamamoto and Neworld Theatre’s Marcus Youssef, and will include a variety of artist encounters and conversations, international artist presentations, and surprise performances.

“The Rally’s all-digital platform will offer Vancouver audiences an unprecedented opportunity to hear directly from some of the best-known and most provocative artists and thinkers, from New York to East Van to Sydney, Iqaluit, and Berlin,” says Youssef.

Adds Yamamoto: “We’re thrilled to present playwright, novelist, social historian and world-renowned AIDS activist Sarah Schulman, best-selling writer and playwright Carmen Aguirre, Inuk creator-performer Laakuluk Williamson Bathory, Pulitzer Prize winner Jackie Sibblies Drury, grunt gallery director Vanessa Kwan, and Canadian theatre icon Ravi Jain, among many others.”

For the complete PuSh Rally schedule visit the PuSh Festival website.