Minister of Culture: Kim Vasquez Was the Most Qualified for Promotion at ICA

Kim Vasquez

Earlier this week, we heard the news that Kim Vasquez has been promoted to the post of Director of the Institute of Creative Arts, ICA. But while Vasquez has been at ICA for nine years, today the Minister of Culture, Francis Fonseca told News Five that her appointment was made on the basis of qualifications.

Francis Fonseca

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Culture

“There was a selection process by the board. As you know, Kim Vasquez has worked at NICH and at ICA for almost ten years, so she has a lot of experience. She has built strong connections with the creative community in Belize. So I think she had a strong advantage over other candidates but the board thought it best to open up the process. So I believe they had a number of applicants who applied for the position, and they conducted interviews with each of them and at the end of that process, they felt that Kim was the strongest candidate and presented the best opportunity for strong leadership moving forward for the Institute of Creative Arts. So she was appointed as the director and I fully support that appointment as the director and I fully support that appointment. I’m very excited about the potential that Kim has shown. And I think most of all, she has a lot of credibility with the creative community, with the cultural community. She has built a lot of strong relationships and that’s very important in the creative arts – the relationship you have with artists and musicians. So I think we have a good plan, we have a good board that will work very closely with her and the rest of our team at NICH, so I’m very excited about the future of that appointment.”