The director of the NG has to revise the development concept of his institution again

Prague - The commission of the Minister of Culture, which deals with galleries established by the Ministry of Culture (MK), has again returned to the director of the National Gallery in Prague (NG) Vladimír Rösel his concept. The document, which should be fundamental for the future direction of one of the largest state collection institutions, lacks both ideological and strategic goals of the NG. This arises from the conclusions of the commission, which are available to ČTK.
    The official output from the meeting of the commission, which served as an advisory body to the minister on October 15, has not been available even three weeks later. Speculation within the art community before its meeting suggested that the commission might propose Rösel's dismissal. However, the commission did not reach that conclusion. It stated that it does not consider the submitted Concept of Development of the National Gallery in Prague for the years 2013-2018 to be a conceptual document that would guarantee the fulfillment of the Mission of the National Gallery in Prague, as formulated by the commission two years ago.
    Whether Minister of Culture Alena Hanáková (TOP 09 and STAN) could decide to change the director of the NG after her very criticized dismissal of the director of the National Theatre, and in the current uncertain situation of the government, is unclear. It is also not clear what the next steps might be - after the competition for the director of the Trade Fair Palace, it seems that the National Gallery is not, despite the significance it should have, an attractive institution and employer for professionals. However, the Minister of Culture can appoint the director of her contribution organization without a competition.
    The commission recommends that Rösel revise the concept as soon as possible. It also expressed concern about the "failed organization" of the selection process for the director of the Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art (SMSU) and the chief curator of contemporary art exhibitions.
    Only four people applied for the position of director of SMSU, that is, the Trade Fair Palace, two of whom met the conditions, curators Karolina Dolanská and Richard Drury. The only candidate for the position of chief curator is Noemi Smolíková. The commission, which will deal with the selection of individuals for both positions, will meet on Monday. The commission includes three directors of regional galleries, the deputy director of the NG Nikolaj Savický, and art historian Lubomír Slavíček.
    The position of SMSU director has been vacant since last September, when its director Tomáš Vlček left. The fact that only four people applied for the position has been described by experts as a sign of distrust from the art community towards the general director of the NG Rösel. He has been in the position since last June, and after a year in office, he was supposed to present a concept for the further development of this significant institution to the MK. The MK returned it to him for revision in July, and now it returns it to him again.