Hannah Guinan, the new artistic director of the Khyber Arts Society in Halifax. Photo: Alyson Hardwick.
Hannah Guinan has been named artistic director of the Khyber Arts Society in Halifax—a longtime artist-run centre currently facing some space challenges.
Guinan has experience with the Khyber in the past, having worked on events management for the organization. As board chair Andrew McLaren stated on Facebook, Guinan “has demonstrated a solid commitment to charting our way ahead in the past few months as the society moved to its temporary location on Cornwallis Street.”
A NSCAD alumnus, Guinan has also been involved with musical endeavours such as the art-rock band Old & Weird and the Rebel Girl Rock Camp in Halifax.
Guinan’s appointment fills the vacancy left by past artistic director Daniel Joyce, who is commencing graduate studies at the University of Toronto this fall.
She won’t officially begin her new position until September. Until then, board vice-chair Krista Hull will act as interim director.
September may be an important time for the organization as it is when city council is due to decide whether the Khyber’s longtime home on Barrington Street should be sold.
Currently, a group called Friends of the Khyber is campaigning with a petition to the effect that “Halifax deserves a cultural and creative hub in a well-maintained, publicly-owned Khyber Building.” An AGM is also scheduled for October for members to meet Guinan and discuss the future of the society, while a record-sale fundraiser is slated for this weekend.
