Besser wants to resolve the situation around the new head of the NG by the end of August

Prague - Minister of Culture Jiří Besser (for TOP 09) wants to finalize the matter regarding the selection process for the director of the National Gallery (NG) by the end of August. He wrote this in response to an open letter from the initiative Time for Change, composed of a group of visual artists, educators, and experts. Jiří David, one of the signatories of the letter, informed ČTK about this today. The initiative was established two and a half years ago and has since been striving for a change in the direction of the NG. The gallery has been led by Milan Knížák since 1999.
    The artists sent Besser a letter on Monday, July 19, and the minister drafted a response a few days later. “I assure you that I will address the whole matter in detail as soon as possible,” Besser promised in the letter, which ČTK has at its disposal. He was also reported by the Týden.cz server.
    “I am carefully familiarizing myself with all materials including the protocol on the selection process and I will soon speak with my predecessor Václav Riedlbauch and also with the Czech members of the selection committee,” wrote the minister. In his previous responses, Besser did not rule out that he would announce a new selection process for the director of the NG.
    The previous minister Václav Riedlbauch organized a selection process for a new director. The international selection committee identified the candidate for the new head of the NG as art historian Jiří Fajt. Riedlbauch left the decision to his successor, recommending three names. Besides Fajt, they include the current director of the Moravian Gallery Brno, Marek Pokorný, and economist Vladimír Rösela.
    The letter to the minister was signed by, for example, the chairwoman of the Art History Society, Milena Bartlová, art historian Jiří Šetlík, director Václav Marhoul, artists Viktor Pivovarov, Krištof Kintera, Petr Nikl, Josef Bolf, and dozens of others.