Job up for grabs again

By Dan Hilborn, Burnaby Now assistant editor
Published Nov. 19, 2003


The Burnaby Art Gallery is looking for its third director/ curator in a year and a half after the abrupt departure of Tom Graff who held the job for only four months.

Kate Friars, director of the Burnaby parks, recreation and cultural services department, confirmed that Graff is no longer employed by the city, but said because the issue is a personnel matter, she could not discuss the reasons for his departure.

"Mr. Graff and his employment with the city is a matter between the two of us," Friars said Friday. "There's nothing mysterious about it other than the fact that people have moved on."

Graff, who was one of the best-known art curators in the Lower Mainland, came to Burnaby this summer after Burnaby conducted a nationwide search to replace Brenda Frederick, who held the position for seven months. Prior to that, the curator was Sarah Dobbs.

Graff was the designer of the single most popular exhibit during Expo 86 - the Canada Pavilion.

Contacted at home, Graff did not want to speculate on why three curators have left the city of Burnaby art gallery in the past 18 months.

"The press tends to do knee-jerk stories, and I don't want you to do that," Graff said, who believes the City of Burnaby needs to take a more "philosophical" look at the role of its art gallery.

However, Graff denied rumours that he left because of concerns over the inability of Burnaby to host a major art show at its only official art gallery - the renovated Ceperley House heritage home in Deer Lake Park.

Denis Nokony, assistant director of cultural services, said a candidate search to fill the post will begin shortly, however, he could not confirm whether the city would hire a firm to conduct another nationwide search.

"We'll be looking at the position vacancy in the very near future and what we can do to get the personnel we need," Nokony said. "I won't give any timelines, but clearly, for the sake of continuity, we'll do it fairly quickly.