Luminato Festival

At TO Live, we believe the performing arts connect communities, spark dialogue, and transform how we experience our city. Through commissioning and co-producing new work, supporting artists, and collaborating with local and international partners, we help create meaningful cultural experiences reflecting Toronto’s diversity.

We are proud to partner with Luminato Festival on presentations of 10 Days in a Madhouse, Play Dead by People Watching, Penn & Teller, and Theatre of Dreams by Hofesh Shechter Company, bringing artists to Toronto audiences and reinforcing the city’s status as a global centre for contemporary performance.

Congratulations to Luminato on this significant milestone anniversary.

For two decades, Luminato has brought artists and audiences together to share bold, diverse, and thought-provoking art experiences. What began as an ambitious vision has grown into one of Canada’s leading international arts festivals that transforms the people, places and possibilities of Toronto.

This festival is particularly special. Across art experiences in theatre, circus, dance, music, opera, public art and film, we transform the city through the theme of PLAY. Running from June 3 – 28, 2026, we proudly present the longest festival in our history, featuring more than 50 free and ticketed events, over 140 performances and more than 25 locations across the city.Luminato 2026 showcases more than 1,000 artists, eight exclusive Canadian commissions and seven world premieres in a celebration that is distinctly Toronto, proudly Canadian, and totally Global.

We thank everyone who makes this celebration possible. We are grateful for everyone who participates in our festivities, whether local, from near or far. Thank you to our community of partners, donors, artists and volunteers.

This festival is a bright reflection of all that is great about Toronto. We invite you to join us in joyful celebration of this vibrant global city.

Can a festival truly PLAY its city? Enter our theme for 2026.

Be it experiences that evoke child’s play using imagination and whimsy; stories that spotlight justice and reconciliation by boldly addressing themes of equal play through to the uncertainty of shifting dynamics, the need to win and the imbalance of power play.

From playable public art that makes you smile and stare in wonder, hearing breakup stories that mirror the playback tapes of our youth, through to discovering the courage of feminists who feigned their own insanity to play for truth.

Play one, play all, play on.

Toronto becomes a stage this summer, and we invite you to join us.

This festival is particularly special. Across art experiences in theatre, circus, dance, music, opera, public art and film, we transform the city through the theme of PLAY. Running from June 3 – 28, 2026, we proudly present the longest festival in our history, featuring more than 50 free and ticketed events, over 140 performances and more than 25 locations across the city. Luminato 2026 showcases more than 1,000 artists, eight exclusive Canadian commissions and seven world premieres in a celebration that is distinctly Toronto, proudly Canadian, and totally Global.

This festival is a bright reflection of all that is great about Toronto. We invite you to join us in joyful celebration of this vibrant global city.

PREMIER DOUG FORD

Hello and welcome to this year’s Luminato Festival.

Every year, Luminato transforms Toronto with bold, playful and extraordinary art experiences. This year promises to be its biggest one, as we celebrate the festival’s 20th anniversary.

Kudos to the unfailingly creative team behind Luminato for, once again, bringing us this celebration of creativity. Thank you for helping make our province a great place to live and a destination for lovers of art and culture everywhere.

Best wishes for a memorable festival.

THE PRIME MINISTER

I would like to convey my warmest greetings to everyone taking part in the 2026 Luminato Festival.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of this much-anticipated annual event. I am certain that everyone in attendance will enjoy the many exceptional performances planned for this edition of the festival.

I would like to thank the artists taking part for sharing their talents with the community.

I would also like to commend the organizers for ensuring the success of this event, year after year, as well as the volunteers for their role in making this an unforgettable experience for everyone.

I wish you all a wonderful festival.

THE MAYOR

It is my pleasure to welcome everyone attending the 20th anniversary edition of the Luminato Festival.

This festival will span nearly a month and showcase exceptional performances in collaboration with some of Toronto’s leading arts organizations. To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the Luminato Festival is focusing on a city-wide celebration of art, light and music, highlighting community-focused experiences.

I am pleased that this event is taking place in Toronto and strives to create inclusive experiences and support access to arts and culture.

On behalf of Toronto City Council, please accept my best wishes for an successful and enjoyable event.

Yours truly,

CREATOR'S NOTE

dance Immersion is thrilled to collaborate with Luminato Festival to present the Canadian Premiere of Nimba by Kira Arts. We are a charitable non-profit organization established by Vivine Scarlett in 1994 to produce, promote, and support dancers and dances of the African Diaspora. Our award-winning programs offer presentation, artistic development, and networking opportunities for Black artists, serving those who practice contemporary and traditional movement forms from Africa, the Caribbean, North America, South America, and Europe. With decades in service, dance Immersion experiences considerable success in connecting dance artists across Canada and around the world.

www.danceimmersion.ca

Aly Keita, originally from Guinea, is a multidisciplinary performing artist based in Montreal. He studied circus arts, dance, and music at the Keita Fodeba Acrobatic Arts Centre in Conakry. In 2016, he came to Canada as part of a cultural exchange between Inuit and Guinean acrobats, which resulted in the production of the documentary Circus Without Borders. Since then, he has collaborated with various organizations, including Kalabanté Productions, Cirque Éloize, Cavalia, Zab Maboungou/Compagnie Danse Nyata Nyata, MAPP Montréal, Jobel Art for Earth, Audrey Gaussiran, RD Créations, and more. He also participated in Afro Canada, a four-part documentary on 400 years of Afro-descendant history, broadcast by Radio-Canada. Beginning in 2020, he created and presented his own work, Djata: Conversations from the Manden, in Canada and the United States. In 2023, he created his new work, Altération, supported by the CALQ and the CAC. Aly Keita has extensive experience in teaching and cultural mediation with both young audiences and adults. Since 2022, he has been an artist-mediator at Place des Arts and also collaborates with the Verdun Circus School. Interacting with audiences of all ages is a source of artistic and personal enrichment for him.

Artistic Direction, Choreography, Music Composition and Costume Design Aly Keita

Led by Aly Keita, Kira Arts is a Montréal-based performing arts creation and production company that designs multidisciplinary works at the crossroads of dance, theatre, circus, and music. Founded on an intercultural and inclusive approach, it values artistic freedom and dialogue between diverse practices, cultures, and sensibilities.

The word Kira, meaning path in Susu (a language of Guinea), symbolizes the encounter and collective journey of artists from diverse backgrounds, with a particular focus on the African diaspora and artists of African descent. Through creations such as Djata: Conversations of Manden, Alteration, and Nimba, the company explores resilience, human connections, and the relationship between culture and nature. By weaving an artistic community open to the world, Kira Arts brings poetic and universal visions to life on local and international stages.

Kira Arts Company