The position of the director of the National Gallery in Prague has attracted five applicants, said Klempíř

Prague – Five candidates have applied for the selection process announced in April by the Ministry of Culture for a new director of the National Gallery in Prague (NGP) following the dismissal of head Alicja Knastová. After opening the envelopes with applications, Minister Oto Klempíř (for Motorists) stated this today on platform X. He did not disclose the names of the candidates. The ministry aims to select a new director by the end of June in the second round.

Applicants were to submit their applications by May 22; according to Klempíř, the ministry opened the envelopes today. "Five candidates have applied. We expect to announce the winner by the end of June," wrote the minister. The office then thanked everyone on Facebook who expressed interest in leading the NGP after Knastová.

Klempíř dismissed her in March, explaining that the gallery needs more significant professional development and the ambition to move among the leading European institutions. However, experts argue that merely changing personnel will not resolve the situation in the gallery.

Knastová's six-year mandate was set to end this year. The gallery is currently led by the current director of the collection of old art, Olga Kotková.

The selection process was announced by the ministry on April 22 as a two-round procedure. In the first round, the committee will evaluate applications from both a formal and substantive point of view and subsequently recommend candidates for the second round, which will include personal interviews. During these, candidates will present their management and development concepts for the gallery. The committee will then recommend a maximum of three most suitable candidates to the minister, who will select the new head of the gallery.

The selection committee is composed of representatives from the Ministry of Culture and experts in the fields of museum studies, gallery practices, art history, and professional organizations.

This year, NGP commemorates 230 years since the founding of its predecessor, the Society of Patriotic Friends of Art. In January, Knastová stated that NGP can invest around 54 million crowns in exhibitions from its approximately half-a-billion-crown budget this year, while in the years before COVID, it was 110 million crowns.