Ashok Mathur is an Indo-Canadian writer, visual artist and an associate professor of English and Modern Languages at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, BC, Canada. He holds a Canada Research Chair in Cultural and Artistic Inquiry and is the director of the Centre for Innovation in Culture and the Arts in Canada. He was born in Bhopal, India. In 1962, he emigrated with his family to Canada and was raised in the Maritimes. He has lived and worked in Calgary and Vancouver. He completed his studies at the University of Calgary, earning a Bachelor's degree, Master of Arts and Ph.D.. Prior to joining Thompson Rivers University in 2005, he taught at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design.