MK ČR will announce a competition for the head of NGP after Easter

Prague - Minister of Culture Lubomír Zaorálek (ČSSD) will announce an international competition for the director of the National Gallery in Prague after Easter. He wants to combine the open selection process with reaching out to several selected personalities. Interested candidates will be able to apply for the advertisement from April 15 to June 15. The institution currently has an interim director after the dismissal of director Jiří Fajt last year. Zaorálek hopes to appoint a new regular director based on the competition by approximately October, he told ČTK today.

Zaorálek announced the competition exactly one year after his predecessor Antonín Staněk (ČSSD) dismissed the then-director of the gallery Jiří Fajt. Along with him, he also dismissed the director of the Olomouc Museum of Art Michal Soukup. Staněk dismissed both leaders citing economic failures last year on Green Thursday, which falls on today’s date this year.

A year ago, Staněk temporarily entrusted the management of NGP to economist Ivan Morávek and announced selection procedures for new directors of both institutions. After his appointment, Zaorálek canceled these procedures. In the case of NGP, he dismissed Morávek and entrusted the management of the gallery to Anne-Maria Nedomová.

"We will not delay anything and will stick to the original schedule we set for the selection of a new director. I do not see strong reasons to postpone the original plan. If everything goes well, I would like to have a regularly elected director from October 1," Zaorálek said. He stated that the competition will seek one general director; in previous months, it was also considered that the gallery could be led jointly by a managing director and an expert in fine arts.

The selection criteria for the competition were prepared by the Guarantee Council of the National Gallery, chaired by architect Josef Pleskot, which Zaorálek established last September after taking over the ministry. Zaorálek said today that Pleskot will also chair the selection committee.

"We live in uncertain times and if I rely on everything returning to normal, we may never see it. I try to take the approach that many things can be done. We are transitioning to other forms of communication; the NGP council also held meetings via videoconference, and the selection process can convene in the same way," the minister stated.