Franco Boni

Franco Boni is currently the Artistic and Executive Director of PuSh International Performing Arts Festival in Vancouver. A recognized cultural innovator, facilitator and community builder with a demonstrated track record of artistic credibility and financial acumen. He has served as Artistic Director of The Theatre Centre in Toronto since 2003, and has been a fixture on Canada’s arts and festival scene for more than two decades.

Boni is the inaugural recipient of the Ken McDougall Award for emerging directors, and was awarded the Rita Davies Cultural Leadership Award, recognizing his outstanding leadership in the development of arts and culture in the City of Toronto. Most recently, Franco was awarded the George Luscombe Award for Mentorship in Theatre.

During Boni’s tenure at The Theatre Centre – a nationally recognized live-arts incubator that serves as a research and development hub for the cultural sector – he developed the Residency Program. The celebrated program embraces experimentation and learning with a wide variety of collaborators and features the work of some of the country’s leading artists.

He also established the Free Fall Festival and co-founded Progress Festival, creating vital performance platforms for national and international artists. Boni served as Festival Director of the Rhubarb Festival from 1998-2000 and as Artistic Producer of the SummerWorks Festival from 1999-2004.