TRANSFORM to Spotlight Local and National Indigenous Artists

Urban Ink’s TRANSFORM Festival, presented in collaboration with The Cultch, will return to the stage for its fifth-year celebration from Nov. 6 to 9, 2024, at the Vancouver Playhouse.

Co-curated by Urban Ink artistic director Corey Payette and The Cultch executive director Heather Redfern, and supported by protocol keeper Quelemia Sparrow, the four-day festival features an all-star lineup of Indigenous and non-Indigenous talents, including the first-ever Indigenous winner of Canada’s Drag Race Season 4, VENUS; circus sensation Sido Adamson; and Vancouver dance and ballroom star Ralph Escamillan.

The milestone festival also features the world premiere of In Spirit, in honour of National Indigenous Veterans Day, performed by Chor Leoni and the Vancouver Youth Choir, featuring music by Indigenous composers Corey Payette and Alexis Vollant, as well as a workshop presentation of Payette’s latest musical, On Native Land.

“Following the last several years of digital and hybrid offerings, we are absolutely delighted to be back onstage for our fifth-anniversary festival, at the Vancouver Playhouse for the first time,” says TRANSFORM Festival director and co-founder Payette.

“This year’s festival continues to break new ground in forging connections between Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists, sparking social change through provocative and poignant storytelling, and celebrating creativity through dazzling performances.”

Adds Redfern, TRANSFORM co-founder: “This festival is a blend of spectacular performance and cultural exploration. From extravagant drag and gravity-defying circus to moving choral music and the powerful examination of identity, there is truly something for everyone. We are thrilled to welcome new and returning audiences to this transformative celebration of collaborative artistry.”

TRANSFORM will kick off with the epic Opening Night Bash on Nov. 6 at 7:30 p.m., co-hosted by iconic drag queen VENUS and festival protocol keeper Quelemia Sparrow and featuring a captivating mixed program of dance with traditional hoop dancer Notorious Cree, Métis dancer and choreographer Jera Wolfe and Canadian Filipinx performance artist Ralph Escamillan; music with Inuit throat singing duo PIQSIQ; circus with Vancouver-based aerial and burlesque performer Sido Adamson; and a drag performance with VENUS.

The festival will continue on Nov. 7 at 7:30 p.m. with the Circus Ball, a thrilling spectacle that blends acrobatics and dance with striking and eccentric performances. Escamillan returns to host the evening, which will feature more performances from Adamson and Wolfe, as well as hooping sensation Lola Loops, circus artist Matt Bagshaw and drag star Batty Banks, and a fabulous performance from the Kiki House of Siriano.

On Nov. 8 at 7:30 p.m., TRANSFORM will present the world premiere of In Spirit, a concert hosted by Payette in honour of National Indigenous Veterans Day. Stirring performances by guest artists Chor Leoni and Vancouver Youth Choir will bring original compositions from Indigenous artists Payette, Russell Wallace and Alexis Vollant to life, resulting in an evening of heartfelt tribute.

The festival will conclude on Nov. 9 at 7:30 p.m. with the special workshop presentation of Payette’s musical-in-progress On Native Land. This sweeping, emotive love story intertwines the lives of three seemingly disparate characters — a lawyer, a Chief and a rising singer-songwriter — whose paths converge in a powerful tale of identity and land disputes. This musical examines the profound impacts of forced displacement on Indigenous Peoples across Turtle Island, and features performers Jesse Alvarez, Zac Bellward, Sarah Cantuba, Dillan Chiblow, Winona Myles, Jordan Stanley, čačumḥi Aaron M. Wells, Cathy Wilmot, Jera Wolfe, Taninli Wright and Kaitlyn Yott.

For tickets and information, please visit the The Cultch’s website.

Complimentary tickets are available for Indigenous community members thanks to the support of the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation. Please reach out by email for more information.