Emiko Morita is a third-generation mixed-heritage Japanese Canadian arts administrator and from 2015 – 2024, the Executive Director of the Powell Street Festival in Vancouver, the largest Japanese Canadian arts and cultural festival in Canada. Previously, she worked in the publishing industry as the marketing director at Douglas & McIntyre, leading marketing campaigns for national bestsellers; as special sales manager at Raincoast Books; and as the BC rep for the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. She is a founding member of the Downtown Eastside Community Land Trust in Vancouver, and the National Access Copyright Foundation. Morita has served on numerous boards in the cultural sector, including the Asian Canadian Writers Workshop, Modern Baroque Opera, and the Association of Book Publishers of BC. She has broad programming experience, from national artist tours to grassroots community engagement. Her curatorial projects include Kiyo: Honouring the Living Memory of Invisible Lives for Spatial Poetics XVI; Hiroshi Calling; and The Photo Club, a community art engagement project for seniors. Morita is currently working as a consultant and curating Powell Street Festival’s 50th Anniversary exhibition and book.
