The director of GASK accused of plagiarism will remain in office

Prague - The director of the Central Bohemian Gallery (GASK), Jana Šorfová, who faces allegations of plagiarism, will remain in her position. This was decided today by the regional councilors. An expert evaluation did not confirm the suspicion of plagiarism, said the spokesperson for the regional office, Berill Mascheková, to ČTK. Following Šorfová's appointment, all curators left the gallery due to the tense atmosphere.
     "I am glad that the matter was investigated, the expert spoke, and it was accepted. That is important to me,” Šorfová reacted to the council's decision. The director faces accusations that she plagiarized in the project she submitted to win the competition for the head of GASK. The web portal Artalk.cz pointed out the striking similarity between Šorfová's project and a work submitted by Monika Burian Jourdan, the head of the Prague Gallery Vernon, who also applied for the position of director of the National Gallery in Prague. Šorfová claims that her project was developed independently from Burian's, although they supposedly worked together professionally in the past and have a similar view on gallery leadership.
     According to Mascheková, the councilors were familiarized with an expert evaluation of the project prepared by a cultural and multidisciplinary project expert. This assessment, according to her, did not confirm the allegations of plagiarism and found no faults in the selection process for the director of GASK. "The proposed project can be considered very viable, with a chance to increase not only the gallery's credit but also that of the entire Central Bohemian Region,” Mascheková quoted from the assessment. The evaluator appreciated, among other things, the effort to streamline operations, strengthen public response, and improve communication with both the educational and lay public, promoting trends and focusing on young creators.
     After Šorfová’s arrival at the gallery, personnel relations in the institution deteriorated, leading to the departure of all curators. Former employees subsequently filed a criminal complaint against the director, claiming she committed fraud. They alleged that she misled the committee in order to gain an advantage in the selection process. Šorfová denies this.
     Personnel changes in the gallery have alarmed GASK's external collaborators. In an open letter to the governor, they wrote that Šorfová's approach threatens their professional commitments not only to the gallery but also to dozens of foreign institutions that provided funding for planned exhibitions. Additionally, members of the selection committee, who recommended Šorfová's appointment to the region, have also expressed objections to her work.
"Jana Šorfová intentionally and purposefully deceived the selection committee and the Central Bohemian Regional Council in order to obtain the director's position,” states the letter to the governor, which was signed by art historians Jiří Fajt, Karel Srp, and Milena Bartlová. According to Mascheková, councilors instructed the culture department to address these concerns. They also expressed surprise that these particular experts are now criticizing Šorfová. "That played a role in our decision-making as well, that the people who selected her then questioned their own decision,” said the governor's deputy Marcel Chládek (ČSSD).
     Šorfová reiterated today that she applied for the position at the suggestion of Fajt and the former director of the gallery, Jan Třeštík, who allegedly told her they admired her eight years of work for the Museum Kampa. "Professor Fajt and the outgoing director of GASK, Jan Třeštík, personally recommended Ms. Šorfová to me as someone they have known for a long time, strongly advocating for her to be appointed director of GASK. I therefore do not understand their change of stance at all,” stated Governor David Rath (ČSSD).
     Members of the selection committee, however, assert that Šorfová provided inaccurate and deliberately misleading information in her application materials for the competition. Her non-original materials allegedly created the impression of a capable manager, which they claim they believed. They also state that after her appointment, Šorfová engaged in numerous unprofessional managerial actions that brought the gallery to the brink of operational collapse.
     The regional council today made a decision about Šorfová's future without councilor Václav Beneš (ČSSD), who is responsible for the culture area. "I am currently unwell. I know that this item was supposed to be on the agenda, but I do not know how the meeting turned out,” Beneš told ČTK.