Andrew Kushnir (born 1980) is a Canadian playwright and actor."Kushnir, Andrew". Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia, March 5, 2019. He is most noted as co-creator with Damien Atkins and Paul Dunn of The Gay Heritage Project,"Gay Heritage Project has a bright future". Toronto Star, November 24, 2013. a theatrical show dramatizing aspects of LGBT history which was shortlisted for the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play in 2014."TAPA ANNOUNCES 2014 DORA AWARD NOMINEES". The Theatre Reader, June 2, 2014.
Early life and education Born in Montreal and raised between Montreal and Winnipeg, Kushnir is a second-generation Ukrainian-Canadian. His maternal grandfather, Peter Kushnir, at 17 served as a messenger for the Waffen SS Galicia Division (later the 1st Ukrainian Division) before escaping from a prisoner-of-war camp in Italy and immigrating to Canada. Peter became a master watchmaker who designed the Zenith Extra RR 56 railway pocket watch and served as a significant influence on Andrew's later work.
He was active in the Ukrainian Youth Association and performed in community pageants as a child. He attended high school in Winnipeg, where he received The Loran Scholarship Award. Kushnir later graduated from the University of Alberta's BFA Acting Conservatory.
Career The artistic director of Project Humanity, a theatrical organization that uses the arts to raise social awareness, Kushnir specializes in verbatim theatre, which addresses social issues by creating theatrical presentations from the real testimonies of people affected by them. His plays have included Captain Princess,"For shame: Playwright takes on guilt and organized religion with musical flair". Edmonton Journal, November 25, 2006. foto, The Middle Place,"Shelter from the norm". National Post, February 22, 2011. Small Axe,"Project: Humanity play deserves to be seen". Toronto Star, January 25, 2015. Wormwood"Powerful play revels in deceptive simplicity". Toronto Star, November 20, 2015. and Towards Youth: A Play on Radical Hope."Theatre meets research project: Andrew Kushnir followed a professor around the world to write his latest play". The Globe and Mail, March 6, 2019. Towards Youth was published in 2022 by University of Toronto Press.
Following his grandfather's death, Kushnir travelled across Europe and Ukraine to retrace his family's history. This research resulted in his documentary play The Division (formerly The Time Piece), which examines family mythology and historical memory.
In 2023, he directed Nick Green's Casey and Diana for the Stratford Festival.Karen Fricker, "‘My mother burst into tears’: Inside ‘Casey and Diana,’ the most moving Canadian play of the year". Toronto Star, June 10, 2023.
Personal life Kushnir came out as gay at age 19.
Activism In 2022, following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kushnir founded the We Support LGBTQ Ukraine Fund in partnership with the Veritas Foundation. The fund provides direct humanitarian aid to queer and trans Ukrainians, specifically to those who are internally displaced or marginalized. By 2024, the fund had raised over $125,000 for Ukrainian NGOs such as and .
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