Adepti for the head of NG remain three even after the meeting of the board with Hanáková

Prague - The candidates for the new director of the National Gallery in Prague remain just three even after Tuesday evening's meeting of the expert committee with Minister of Culture Alena Hanáková. They are the current acting director of the NG Vít Vlnas, art historian Jiří Fajt, and former director of the Moravian Gallery in Brno Marek Pokorný. The committee members had intended to come to Tuesday's meeting with additional names to allow for a broader selection of potential candidates, but none of those they approached reportedly accepted the offer, according to ČTK information.
    The minister plans to meet with the three candidates for the position of gallery head next week. Speculation has resumed on Tuesday that Hanáková may soon leave her position.
    Both Fajt and Pokorný are unsuccessful candidates from the selection procedures for the director of the NG in 2010 and 2011; the ministry is reportedly bringing them back into the game because they have already passed the competition, thus knowing their concepts. The staff of the gallery primarily supports Vít Vlnas, director of the NG's Collection of Old Art, who has been entrusted with managing the entire gallery following the dismissal of Vladimír Rösela. Vlnas applied for the competition at the minister's call in 2010 when a successor to long-serving NG director Milan Knížák was sought.
    The Ministry of Culture also invited Fajt and Pokorný to participate in the selection process in 2010. That same year, the selection committee recommended to then-Minister Václav Riedlbauch to appoint Fajt. However, Riedlbauch decided not to appoint anyone before the approaching parliamentary elections and to leave the decision to his successor. This was Jiří Besser, who announced a new competition, and in addition to Fajt and Pokorný, economist Rösel also applied, whom Besser appointed as the head of the NG on June 1, 2011.
    Hanáková dismissed him in mid-April, justifying it by claiming he had not demonstrated an understanding of the gallery's mission and was a guarantee for its development. Speculation about Rösel's departure had been circulating for some time. However, thoughts about his dismissal had been raised rather several months ago; the recent period, according to experts, has brought a shift in the functioning of the NG. The gallery has organized several successful exhibitions and, after a long time, has also prepared a major exhibition for abroad.