Ústecký region has dismissed five directors of museums and galleries

Louny, Chomutov, Most - Museum directors are dismissed effective September 30. Gallery heads will remain until the end of the year. The regional council announced a selection procedure.
Regional councilors dismissed five directors of museums and galleries that are contributory organizations of the Ústí nad Labem Region. Among them is the director of the Chomutov museum and the directors of galleries in Most and Louny.
“The Ústí nad Labem Region wants to move in a different direction in this segment of culture in the future, similar to other museums managed by the region,” said regional spokesperson Lucie Dosedělová. She did not specify what is undesirable about the current work of cultural leaders and what ideas the regional management has for the new direction. “We will not elaborate on that for now,” she added.
Museum directors are dismissed effective September 30, while gallery heads will remain until the end of the year. The regional council simultaneously announced a selection procedure for these positions, in which current directors can also apply. However, they will have to defend their vision anew.
The information about such a significant step surprised the directors. “No one has officially discussed this with me yet, so it seems premature for me to comment on it,” said Stanislav Děd, the long-time director of the Chomutov Regional Museum yesterday.
As assured by the regional spokesperson, the dismissal letters are already on their way. “We did not want the directors to learn about their dismissal from the newspapers; unfortunately, it was first necessary to verify the resolution, and only then could the letters be sent officially,” explained Lucie Dosedělová about the delay.
Among the directors who will have to leave by the end of this year is also Alica Štefančíková, who has led the Benedikt Rejt Gallery in Louny for thirty years. The news caught Štefančíková at a time when she is working on many tasks.
“It is difficult to comment on the region's decision when it affects you so personally. I have left a part of my life in this gallery, but of course everything comes to an end at some point; that is a normal development of things and events. It has been difficult work, and there are still many unfinished tasks ahead of us. I would like to complete everything so that I can properly hand over the gallery and my leadership position to my successor,” said director Alica Štefančíková.
She first learned about the potential dismissal at the end of April at a meeting of heads of cultural institutions.
The Benedikt Rejt Gallery cares for many works of art, but in recent years it has faced issues with excessive humidity and structural instability, and it is closed to the public. It also oversees the exhibition hall of Emila Filly at the castle in Peruc, which is also closed due to ongoing renovations of the castle. The castle as a whole has a different owner.
“It is the right of the founder,” reacted sixty-one-year-old Petr Svoboda, director of the Gallery of Fine Arts in Most, to his dismissal. He has led the unique gallery, located in the basement of a relocated church, since 1991. He has organized over 200 exhibitions, most of which are authored, created specifically for Most. He would like to stay in the field. “I will see what happens next,” he added.