Sirish Rao is an internationally recognized arts leader, writer and cultural innovator known for taking risks, challenging convention and creating space for new ideas to emerge.

Born and raised in Bangalore, Sirish began his career in publishing, helping grow Tara Books into one of India’s most celebrated independent publishing houses. After moving to Vancouver, he co-founded the Indian Summer Festival, which grew under his leadership into one of Canada’s leading platforms for South Asian art and ideas.

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Today, Sirish is Co-CEO of the Vancouver Art Gallery, where he helps shape how the institution connects with the public and explores the role art can play in culture, community and well-being.

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A trained Himalayan mountain guide, Sirish brings a spirit of curiosity, adventure and calculated risk to everything he does. His books have been translated into 20 languages, and his contributions to Canadian culture have been recognized with the King Charles III Coronation Medal and a place on Vancouver Magazine’s Power 50 list.

The Cartography of Unexpected Things

On following curiosity when the map runs out.

We are often encouraged to imagine life as a straight line, yet most meaningful journeys are anything but. Through stories of chance encounters, unlikely opportunities, and moments of reinvention, this talk reflects on the hidden logic of detours and the ways in which uncertainty can become a creative force. Sometimes the route that appears to take us away from our destination is the one that leads us most directly to ourselves.

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