About — Andrew Kushnir

Photo: Dahlia Katz

Andrew Kushnir is a Canadian playwright, director, performer, teacher, and community arts worker who calls Toronto home. He is artistic director of the socially-engaged theatre company Project: Humanity, where much of his documentary theatre work is done.

Along with being a University of Alberta alum and Loran Scholar, he became the inaugural recipient of the Shevchenko Foundation REACH artist residency in 2019. In 2023, Andrew was named one of ten "Canadian Artists of the Year" by The Globe and Mail. In 2024, he received the Dora Award for Outstanding Direction and the Toronto Theatre Critics' Award for Best Director of a Play for Bad Roads, and was inducted as a Senior Fellow at Massey College. He holds a BFA in Acting from the University of Alberta.

Beyond the stage, Andrew founded the We Support LGBTQ Ukraine Fund (with the Veritas Foundation, 2022), which had raised over $145,000 as of June 2026. In January 2026, Andrew was officially sanctioned by the Russian Federation on account of his work as an artist and activist.

Selected honours & residencies

Senior Fellow, Massey College (2024)
2024 Dora Mavor Moore Award — Outstanding Direction of a Play (Bad Roads)
2024 Toronto Theatre Critics' Award — Best Director of a Play (Bad Roads)
2024 Public History Award, Heritage Toronto (Casey and Diana, with Nick Green)
2023 Globe and Mail Canadian Artist of the Year
2019 Inaugural Shevchenko Foundation REACH arts residency
Dora Mavor Moore Award — Outstanding Ensemble (Passion Play, 2013)
Playwright-in-Residence, Tarragon Theatre (2011–2017)
Associate Artistic Director-in-Residence, Crow's Theatre (2016–2018)
Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Direction, Stratford Festival (2018, 2019)
Loran Scholar (1998); BFA Acting, University of Alberta (2002)

Contact

Representation: Ian Arnold, Catalyst TCM — ian@catalysttcm.com, (416) 645-0935.

General: andrew@projecthumanity.ca