Granville Island Cultural Society Welcomes New Executive Director

The Granville Island Cultural Society (GICS) is bidding farewell to its current Executive Director and welcoming a new incumbent. 

After six years as Executive Director, Hazel Currie is retiring from arts administration at the end of October, 2013.  Following an in-depth search the Society has selected Barbara Chirinos as Ms. Currie’s successor.

Hazel Currie’s contribution to the arts in Vancouver, the GICS and to the Granville Island Community has been long and varied. Prior to her tenure as Executive Director at GICS she has worked as an arts administrator with the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company, the Vancouver International Writers Festival, the Vancouver East Cultural Centre and Pacific Cinémathèque Pacifique. She has also been active on the boards of the Greater Vancouver Alliance for Arts and Culture and City Opera Vancouver.

The Society’s incoming Executive Director, Barbara Chirinos, has similarly had a varied and successful career in the arts. Prior to re-locating to Vancouver in 2002, Barbara worked at Red Carnelian Film and Video Inc., New York.  Since then, she has held positions with the Vancouver International Film Festival (twice); the Coastal Jazz and Blues Society; the Vancouver Folk Music Festival; Vision Vancouver; and the HomeGround Festival. Other arts involvement has included being a board member with Coastal Jazz and Blues Society, Working Spark Theatre and the Haida Gwaii Film Festival Society. Barbara was also an active member of the City of Vancouver Planning Committee to launch Black History Month.

GICS is a non-profit society founded in 2001 having as its mission to manage, oversee and support such cultural facilities and programs as may be effective for the advancement of arts and culture on Granville Island.  We manage three of CMHC-Granville Island’s premier performance venues, the Waterfront Theatre, Performance Works and Studio 1398. GICS also provides support for, and participates in, the direction of Granville Island’s extensive cultural programming, including management of the Granville Island Busking Program, co-ordination of the outdoor public spaces and special event support.

Click here for more information about the Granville Island Cultural Society.