INTRODUCING OUR NEW ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, OLIVIA ANSELL

Ansell to present her inaugural festival program in June 2025

We are thrilled to share the exciting news of Olivia Ansell’s appointment as the new Artistic Director of Luminato Festival Toronto. 

Voted one of Vivid Sydney’s Top 100 Creative Catalysts, Olivia brings a unique viewpoint to this role leading Luminato’s artistic and curatorial vision. She will curate her inaugural program for our 19th festival in 2025. 

With an impressive background as the current Festival Director of Sydney Festival and former Head of Contemporary Performance for Sydney Opera House, she has helped elevate the cultural landscape of Sydney, providing rich opportunities for people to re-discover and re-experience the city in new and unexpected ways. 

We are so excited to have Olivia join us at Luminato beginning immediately, and cannot wait for you to see how she transforms Toronto in June 2025! 

“I am filled with immense excitement and enthusiasm to welcome Olivia Ansell as our Artistic Director. Olivia’s dedication to cultural storytelling, audience engagement, and animating place will help deepen Luminato’s impact as a cultural city-building organization. She has a natural talent for understanding the pulse of a city and presenting it in an authentic manner.”

Celia Smith

CEO, LUMINATO FESTIVAL TORONTO

“I am honoured to join Luminato and curate for a renowned multi-disciplinary festival at an international scale. Toronto is a remarkable city and I look forward to fostering creative exchange among artists, organizations and communities locally and worldwide to amplify the vibrancy of this city’s identity through cultural storytelling and ambitious public play.” 

Olivia Ansell

INCOMING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR