Art World News: National Gallery of Canada called a 'woke national disgrace' while interim CEO says departures reflect 'necessary' change

National Gallery of Canada interim director Angela Cassie. Photo via Twitter
 

By WM ART WORLD NEWS December, 2022

"Canada’s National Gallery has fallen into the hands of amateurs in thrall to dogma and in love with mantra, with more confidence than credibility." says National Post writer Andrew Cohen in his recent column. 

The interim director and CEO of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa says recent staff departures, which have sparked concern among former employees and critics, reflect the need for change at the country's premier arts institution.

"Transformation is necessary, and I recognize that for some, that understanding about this need for change is not shared," Angela Cassie said in an interview with CBC on Friday.

Cassie, who took over as head of the Ottawa-based institution last July, is speaking one week after a letter written by seven former gallery workers was made public and sent to Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez.

The letter claimed key positions at the gallery were vacant in the wake of four recent departures, as well as at least 10 previous staff exits under the tenure of former CEO and director Sasha Suda.

"There are days when I almost feel sorry for Angela Cassie – as sorry as I do for Michael Melling. Both are executives who have been roundly criticized for dismissing prominent cultural figures, but employees’ rights to privacy mean the castigated bosses can never tell their side of the story." said Kate Taylor for the Globe and Mail. WM

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