The Slovak National Gallery (SNG) is in a state of upheaval as its executive board, which includes the heads of four crucial departments, has submitted their resignations in a public letter to Slovakia’s Minister of Culture, Martina Šimkovičová, as reported by The Art Newspaper.
The letter, which was also signed by Ľubica Orechovská, the SNG's director of exhibitions and expositions production, was released on Tuesday (November 26), following a meeting with the gallery's recently appointed acting director general, Jaroslav Niňaj.
In their resignation letter, the five senior staff members accused Niňaj of creating a hostile work environment, describing their initial meeting with him as "full of intimidation, threats, and investigations." The letter further stated that, under his leadership, the staff felt demotivated, unstable, and increasingly frustrated, to the point where they could no longer "do our job." Their resignations are scheduled to take effect next week.
Niňaj, who was appointed by the Ministry of Culture, marks the third leader in this role since the dismissal of long-serving director Alexandra Kusá in August. His predecessor, Miloš Timko, held the position for less than two months before stepping down amidst escalating internal tensions.
The resignations come amid heightened unrest within Slovakia's cultural sector. The country's government, led by populist Prime Minister Robert Fico, has faced increasing criticism over its management of the SNG and other national cultural institutions. Protests erupted over the summer in response to the politically motivated dismissals of Kusá and Matej Drlička, head of the Slovak National Theatre, which many saw as an attempt to purge top cultural figures. Despite these protests, the government has persisted with its interventionist approach, with recent replacements at the Slovak National Museum and other cultural bodies.
The situation at the SNG escalated earlier in November when 177 employees threatened to resign en masse in January during a press conference held outside the gallery. The staff expressed concerns over structural changes planned under Timko’s leadership, including what they described as "targeted dismissals," with Timko planning to remove senior figures from their positions. These include Alexandra Kusá, who has continued to work at the SNG as a curator. A detailed letter from the employees expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of transparency and warned that the planned changes could "paralyse" the institution.
The employees demanded that "a new director general be appointed to lead the SNG who can professionally and transparently create and maintain stable working conditions for his colleagues and all collaborators… A person who will preserve the good name of the institution and will make all decisions in the interest of the institution, not on the basis of expedient or personal motivations."
The discontent within the SNG has already begun to affect the institution's external relations, with its major corporate sponsor, Tatra banka, publicly announcing its decision to postpone any future funding commitments, citing the "tense and unclear" situation at the gallery.
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