SHERRIE JOHNSON APPOINTED ASSOCIATE CURATOR OF PUSH FESTIVAL

PuSh International Performing Arts Festival Executive Director Norman Armour has announced the appointment of Sherrie Johnson to the position of Associate Curator of the PuSh Festival, beginning in May. From her home-base in Toronto, Sherrie will assist with programming, artistic development, fostering international projects and Canadian presenter networks. Currently, she is the producer of the annual PuSh Assembly networking event, and will continue in that role in addition to her expanded duties.
 
“I am so pleased to make this announcement,” said Armour. “I can’t think of anyone else who brings so much to the table. To assume the responsibilities of co-founder and current Associate Curator Katrina Dunn is no easy task. The PuSh Festival increasingly has a significant national and international role to play. And these are precisely the arenas that Sherrie has been forging ground in for over 15 years. This means that the Festival will be more in tune with the work of artists right across the country. It means that the Festival will be that much stronger in its ability to bring new exposure to Canadian artists, while with continuing to work with our many partners in Canada and abroad to build upon commissioning, co-productions and reciprocal relationships.”
 
Sherrie Johnson was recently awarded the Canada Council for the Arts’ John Hobday Award in Arts Management for outstanding achievement in arts management. The award acknowledged her 17 years of experience producing award-winning theatre, dance and film. As the producer of da da kamera (1993–2007), her long-standing association with Daniel MacIvor resulted in a string of acclaimed theatre productions that have toured Canada, Scotland, Ireland, United States, Australia, Norway, Israel and Western and Eastern Europe, winning numerous awards, among them an Edinburgh Fringe First, a Best Production DORA and a Village Voice OBIE for outstanding new theater in New York City.
 
Sherrie was co-founder and programmer (with Menno Plukker) of the internationally acclaimed theatre and dance festival Six Stages and successfully produced festivals in Toronto, Prague, Glasgow and Berlin between 1995–2003. She represents and manages Canadian playwright/author John Mighton. She recently produced (with Bernard Lagace, Alain Pare and Esther Charron) I.E.T.M. Montreal 2007 in Montreal. Sherrie was the touring liaison for The Magnetic North Theatre Festival in 2006 and 2007.
 
She has extensive ties to the independent film industry, having produced films by Daniel MacIvor, Jeremy Podeswa, and Wiebke von Carolsfeld. Her upcoming feature film is A Tryst With Destiny, with Masala writer/director Srinivas Krishna, scheduled to shoot in Hyderabad, India.

PuSh International Performing Arts Festival
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