SHERRY YOON | DIRECTOR, CURATOR
City: Boca del Lupo, Vancouver, BC
Instagram: N/A
Previous work: Richmond Gateway Theatre/National Arts Centre, Bard on the Beach, the Vancouver International Children’s Festival, Festival Cervantino, and Festival Transameriques
With an illustrious, 25-year career, Sherry Yoon is a theatre director and curator with a globally-decorated palette. Her passion for creating new performance through collaborative pursuits has enabled her to create work in theatres, performance installations, and large spectacle site-specific work. With 40 productions and counting under her belt, Yoon’s theatre experience spans from festivals to intimate shows. Touring across North America, Europe, and Latin America has given Yoon a cross-cultural edge. Emerging with an appreciation for various backgrounds and lived experiences, Yoon has finetuned her ability to relate to audiences, both small and large, in a one-of-a-kind way.
“There are many [obstacles] when one is pursuing a career in the arts, but through passion, drive and hard work, I’ve been able to become a working artist primarily on my own terms,” Yoon shares.
Her company has been in receipt of various accolades, such as Alcan Performing Arts Award, Jessie Richardson Award, and the Critics Choice Award for Innovation.
She is currently working on an interactive installation about climate change and our relationship to the guilt and isolation that people carry, involving the audience charging a battery on a stationary bicycle. Sherry also participates in multiple local and national arts advisories, and has launched the 3.7% – and advocacy group to support emerging and established BIPOC women and non binary artists in leadership, and most recently Stop Asian Hate an initiative that has galvanized Asian Canadian Leadership in the performing arts across Canada. She is also a freelance director and has recently been honoured as a finalist for the prestigious Siminovitch Award for directing.
More about Sherry Yoon
How were you first introduced to your creative discipline (i.e. music, dance, comedy, etc.)?
“I loved imagining being somewhere else, a picture in a book or magazine, or pretending to be different people: animals, creatures and playing out what their lives could be like.”
How has your city, region or places you were raised impacted you artistically/creatively?
“Vancouver has been a pivotal part of my development as an artist. Much of my work has been for Vancouver audiences; and having this city as my home base has enable me and the work I have created to travel across Canada, Latin America and Europe.”
What has been your biggest professional achievement(s) so far?
“I’ve had the incredible opportunity to work with some of the most talent collaborators in the country, and am excited about the possibilities of future work and creative projects. I’m proud of my past accomplishments but feel the best is yet to come, in the most positive way.”
