Arts Club artistic director Ashlie Corcoran receives YWCA Women of Distinction Award

Annual accolade honours an individual who has significantly enriched Metro Vancouver’s arts and culture community

By emily lyth

Ashlie Corcoran. Photo courtesy YWCA Metro Vancouver

ASHLIE CORCORAN, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR of the Arts Club Theatre Company, is the winner of this year’s YWCA Women of Distinction Award in the Arts, Culture & Design category.

Corcoran accepted the award on April 28 during a ceremony at the Westin Bayshore downtown, presented by Scotiabank. Now in its 42nd year, the accolade goes to a woman or gender-diverse individual who has enriched the Metro Vancouver arts and culture community with their talent, commitment, and leadership.

Since taking the helm at the Arts Club in 2018, Corcoran—who is originally from White Rock—has directed everything from a wildly entertaining Little Shop of Horrors to Omari Newton and Amy Lee Lavoie’s hard-hitting comedy Redbone Coonhound. Among the initiatives the artist has introduced to the company are relaxed performances for neurodivergent audience members and accessible performances for individuals with sight and hearing challenges.

Corcoran regularly consults disability experts and cultural advisors when working on Arts Club productions. She also recently conducted Die Fledermaus and The Magic Flute for Vancouver Opera, and in her spare time, she mentors young people through the Loran Scholars Foundation.

In a release today, Corcoran called the award win “both an honour and a reminder of the profound responsibility we have as artists and arts leaders,” adding that she is “deeply committed to ensuring that theatre remains a place where everyone can participate, contribute, and thrive.”

Past recipients of the YWCA Women of Distinction Award in the Arts, Culture & Design category include Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art associate curator Beth Carter, Vancouver Youth Choir founding artistic director Carrie Tennant, and independent curator and art historian Krystal Paraboo. 

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