Czech Cultural Institutions Support Dismissed Director of Slovak National Gallery
Representatives of Czech cultural institutions have expressed their support for Alexandra Kusá, who was dismissed from the position of general director of the Slovak National Gallery this Wednesday by the Slovak Minister of Culture. For example, the head of Prague’s National Gallery regrets her departure, and Culture Minister Martin Baxa from ODS praises Kusou.
The head of the Slovak National Gallery, who had been in office since 2010, was relieved of her duties by the Minister of Culture there, Martina Šimkovičová, appointed for the Slovak National Party. She cited alleged managerial misconduct as the reason.
The ministry’s move to dismiss Kusá came a day after it also dismissed the head of the Slovak National Theater, Matej Drlička. 189,000 people in Slovakia have already signed a petition for the minister’s resignation. Former president Zuzana Čaputová supported both dismissed bosses.
Supportive voices are now coming from the Czech Republic. For example, the Council of Galleries of the Czech Republic, a professional association of collection-making institutions, criticized the Slovak government’s handling of Kusá’s dismissal. The council wrote that Kusá’s appeal calls into question the principles of democratic development and significantly threatens the free development of the institution.
The Prague National Gallery expressed deep concern over Kusá’s dismissal. “We consider the independence of culture and the freedom of artistic expression to be one of the basic pillars of democracy,” the gallery said. The gallery’s director, Alicja Knastová, expressed “deep sorrow” over the dismissal of her Slovak colleague.
Culture Minister Martin Baxa from ODS wrote on social media that he values cooperation with Kusa and admires the current form of the Slovak National Gallery. “I’m keeping my fingers crossed for her in whatever she does in the future,” he wrote.
Other prominent figures in the Czech Republic have also expressed their support for Kusá. The rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, Maria Topolčanská, called the Slovak Minister of Culture’s policy “a dangerous manifestation of the autocracy of the current government.”
The controversy surrounding Kusá’s dismissal has raised concerns about the state of democracy and freedom of expression in Slovakia.