The Director General of the Slovak National Gallery (SNG), Alexandra Kusá, has received her dismissal decree, delivered on August 7th, 2024, by the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic. Considering the information, we received from our colleagues of ICOM Slovakia, the reasons for her dismissal seem vague and quite unclear. In the context of the additional dismissal of the Head of the National Theatre, Matej Drlicka, just one day earlier, ICOM Austria is very worried about the impact of those decisions on the mayor cultural institutions of Slovakia.

A statement issued by the Slovak National Gallery (SNG) on Wednesday noted that “The staff... stands firmly behind Alexandra Kusá, recognising the immense effort, time, expertise, humanity, innovative vision, and at times, superhuman dedication she has invested in building a national cultural institution that truly understands the real meaning and value of the words ‘national', ‘culture’, and ‘institution’.”

As representatives of ICOM Austria and professional museum experts, aware of international standards in the management of culture and cultural institutions, we hereby express deep concern over the actions of the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic. Decisions on leading positions in museums should always be based on professional experience and dedication to the goals of cultural institutions to preserve, protect and promote tangible and intangible heritage. Cultural freedom and institutional independence of the museum community are key factors to reach those goals, and we support our colleagues in Slovakia in this cause.
 

 
Dr. Johanna Schwanberg
Chair
ICOM Austria

Photo: Alexandra_Kusa_SNG_Maňo Štrauch