The City of Vancouver will soon lose an influential voice for arts and culture. In November, Branislav Henselmann will take up a new position as executive director of the San Francisco, where he will work alongside artistic director Tamara Rojo.
“From my early days as a dancer, I’ve looked to San Francisco Ballet as a beacon for what ballet should and can be,” Henselmann said in an SF Ballet news release.
Since last September, Henselmann has been the City of Vancouver’s deputy general manager of arts, culture and community services. Prior to that, he headed the city’s cultural services department, which was rolled into his arts, culture, and tourism portfolio.
During his seven-year tenure, the City of Vancouver advanced its landmark Culture|Shift initiative. It provides a framework for supporting arts and culture as a key economic pillar from 2020 to 2029. Moreover, it builds on commitments to reconciliation and equity while promoting the development of more cultural venues. It includes an appendix outlining the Vancouver Music Strategy.
His departure comes in the wake of the Vancouver Art Gallery disclosing that the price of its new building will reach $600 million due to rising construction costs.
Henselmann previously worked for Ballet BC
From May 2017 to April 2023, Henselmann also sat on the board of the Vancouver Foundation. In 2020 with him as a director, the Vancouver Foundation offered a lifeline to many registered charities, including arts organizations. It did this by distributing nearly $20 million in the three months after the World Health Organization declared that COVID-19 was a pandemic.
Henselmann has a master’s degree in public administration from the London School of Economics and a master’s degree in fine arts from New York University. He is well-suited for his new position with his strong background in dance as a performer, former artistic curator of New York City Ballet, and former executive producer of the U.K.-based Michael Clark Company.
From 2012 to 2017, Henselmann was executive director of Ballet BC, helping bring it to international audiences. He’s looking forward to San Francisco Ballet scaling new heights in the coming years.
“I firmly believe that art and culture are the very bedrock of our collective identities, and I can’t wait to help SF Ballet continue to build upon that foundation,” Henselmann said.
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