The Director General of the Slovak National Gallery (SNG), Alexandra Kusá, has received her dismissal decree, delivered on August 7th, 2024, by the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic. The Ministry of Culture communicated the reasons for her dismissal in a vague and general manner, which did not clarify the ministry’s actions. According to information published on the ministry’s website the reasons for the dismissal primarily include the familial relationship between the General Director of the SNG and her father, architect Martin Kusý, who was responsible for the reconstruction of the Slovak National Gallery’s headquarters. Other reasons cited were the activities of SNG at the Venice Biennale, which allegedly “did not aim to promote Slovak culture and art,” as well as “the peculiarity of professional decisions” in organizing exhibitions at the SNG.
Alexandra Kusá has never shied away from addressing the topic of a potential conflict of interest and has proactively communicated her family ties on multiple occasions, as seen in interviews for Denník N and Postoj Despite the increased costs of the reconstruction, we have no indication, even indirect, of any suspicion of intentional wrongdoing by the General Director of the Slovak National Gallery (SNG) or of her financially benefiting from the signed addenda.
The question of presenting contemporary Slovak art abroad or utilizing the spaces of the SNG is a legitimate part of public discourse, in which not only experts but any citizen have the right to participate. The SNG has never shied away from such discussions—on the contrary, it has often encouraged debate through its various installations. We believe that the General Director of the SNG would have welcomed the opportunity to discuss the approach to presenting Slovak art to a global audience or, ideally, the Ministry of Culture’s vision on this topic.
We believe that those who may be the subject of questions regarding potential managerial or professional missteps at the highest levels of Slovak cultural institutions (including the Slovak National Theatre) should have the opportunity to respond. This right was denied to General Director Kusá.
In light of the above information, as representatives of professional museum experts, aware of international standards in the management of culture and cultural institutions, we hereby express deep concern over the actions of the Minister of Culture.
On behalf of the Board of SK ICOM:
Margaréta Musilová -chair
Tomáš Michalík
Martin Hrubala
Eva S. Kotláriková
Katarína Bányászová
For more info in English: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/08/08/slovak-national-gallery-director-dismissed-by-culture-minister
https://spectator.sme.sk/c/23367535/slovak-national-gallery-director-dismissed.html