Sirish Rao
Co-Founder | Indian Summer Festival; Interim CEO | Vancouver Art Gallery
Sirish Rao is an internationally recognized arts leader, writer, and cultural innovator. 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 has founded multiple cultural organizations and initiatives across Asia, Europe and North America and is a risk-embracer known for experimentation, innovation and driving social and systemic change. Since 2023, Sirish has been a part of the senior leadership team at the Vancouver Art Gallery in the newly created role of Director of Public Engagement & Learning. In this role, he participates in collaborative organizational leadership to create paths that share perspectives and build and engage communities. Sirish is responsible for oversight of all areas in which the Gallery intersects with the public and all earned revenue, across educational initiatives, multi-disciplinary programming, audience development, retail and events. He is tasked with nurturing and growing a local and global network of cultural partners, and leading emergent initiatives such as the Art & Wellbeing Lab and the Centre for Global Asias.
Sirish has been named to Vancouver Magazine’s Power 50 list (2025) and is a recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal for significant contributions to Canada.
