Experts in the field are surprised by Knastová's appointment as head of NGP

Prague - A great surprise from the election of the new director of the National Gallery in Prague, which today has been taken over by the Polish musicologist Alicja Knast, who has experience in managing several galleries and museums, was expressed by the majority of people in the field surveyed by ČTK. In the final round, Culture Minister Lubomír Zaorálek (ČSSD) preferred her over art historian Jiří Fajt and curator Marek Pokorný. The only thing that the interviewed experts relatively agree on is respect for the open selection process and the possibility to start a new phase in the history of the National Gallery that is not burdened by its connection to the domestic context.

"The board of the Art History Society (UHS) values that the new director of the National Gallery, Alicja Knast, emerged from an open selection process, in which the professional public also participated. Based on Mr. Minister's statement, it is clear that the main task of the new director will primarily be to increase attendance, but a quality exhibition program and good functioning of the institution as such are equally important," said Johanka Lomová from the society's board to ČTK.

The National Gallery in Prague is the largest Czech collection institution in the field of visual arts, but it is also an important phenomenon in terms of where contemporary presentation of art and its contact with the audience is heading. It is also an important partner to other entities in the field that cooperate with it more or less, often considering personnel arrangements.

"I do not know Alicja Knast personally, but I appreciated that her concept for NGP did not overlook important issues such as the inclusion of diversity among audience groups and themes into the NGP program, the necessity of greater care for existing female and male employees, encouraging joint discussion about the vision for the future functioning of the institution, emphasis on research and collection of art from the Central European space, and mutual support and cooperation with the local art scene," said Karin Kottová, chairperson of the Jindřich Chalupecký Society, to ČTK.

"The new director is stepping into a challenging situation after many changes at NGP, but we will keep our fingers crossed for her to successfully implement the planned goals. I also hope that we will have the opportunity to negotiate together about the revival of the Jindřich Chalupecký Award ceremony at the National Gallery in Prague, which, in my opinion - in the context of alternating with Brno and now Ostrava - still belongs there," Kottová stated.

The exhibition of finalists for the Chalupecký prize, which highlights exceptional artists under 35 years old, was supposed to take place in the National Gallery this autumn, but interim director Anne-Marie Nedoma rejected it from being held at NGP, citing the situation surrounding the coronavirus and its impact on public budgets.

"I don't expect anything from the change; nobody knows her, nobody knows anything; I just heard that she enchanted the jury with her femininity. Perhaps she is beautiful, but what is important is that it is a very clever political move to not appoint anyone who is somehow known in the Czech Republic... so that no one can so-called say anything," artist František Skála told ČTK.

He reminded that the state apologized to the dismissed NGP director Jiří Fajt. "If the state apologized to Jiří Fajt, it means that it acknowledged he was dismissed unjustly. Therefore, they should have automatically returned him to his position and apologized and compensated for the damages he incurred. There should not have been another selection process that he had to participate in," argued the award-winning artist, who recently had a major retrospective exhibition organized by NGP.

Vít Havránek, who as a contemporary art curator works in several international platforms and has previously vied for a position at NGP, told ČTK today that in the case of Knast's election, there is an opportunity to look at the institution from an independent perspective. "There is hope that the National Gallery could be restructured, that the new director will realize that it is too large an institution, and that she could approach its restructuring rather than a candidate from the domestic environment burdened by history and cultural context," said Havránek, who has previously advocated for the possibility of dividing NGP into several institutions.

"For me, the election of Knast was surprising but also encouraging. I firmly hope that she will bring a breath of fresh air, new ideas, and experiences to this somewhat stagnant institution, as she is not burdened by local animosities within the professional community. In her concept, she emphasizes her role as a team leader against the control of the institution by her own ambitions. And the effort to free it from routine. I wish her the best," said independent curator and publicist Lenka Lindaurová to ČTK.