The director of the Centre Pompidou stood up for Fajt

Prague - The director of the Centre Pompidou, Bernard Blistène, has also joined the protest letter from directors of major museums and galleries around the world, expressing their disagreement with the dismissal of Jiří Fajt, the director of the National Gallery in Prague. Representatives from 12 institutions supported Fajt on the day of his dismissal, April 18, and there are now 38 signatures from representatives of museums and galleries worldwide under the letter. It is unclear whether Fajt's dismissal could jeopardize the planned close cooperation between the NGP and the Centre Pompidou.

Jiří Fajt was dismissed by Minister of Culture Antonín Staněk (ČSSD) before Easter, along with Michal Soukup, the director of the Olomouc Art Museum. Staněk justified the dismissal of both due to shortcomings identified by ministry inspections at the mentioned institutions. In Fajt's case, Staněk criticized primarily the author's contract, which allowed Fajt to earn approximately one million crowns over 16 months for preparing exhibitions, although similar contracts are also signed by other directors of state-funded organizations, as noted by Jan Burian, the director of the National Theatre.

The signatories of the letter, which was addressed to the Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) on April 30, stated that Fajt has contributed to mutual cooperation between artistic institutions and has elevated the Prague National Gallery. They write that they maintain a long-term collaboration with Fajt, which has led to the exchange of personnel, planning joint projects, mutual respect, and the development of contacts.

Among those who signed are Max Hollein, the head of the Metropolitan Museum in New York; Glenn D. Lowry, the director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York; Tristram Hunt from London's Victoria and Albert Museum; Miguel Falomir Faus representing the Prado Museum in Madrid; Maria Balshaw, the head of the Tate group of British museums; and Marion Ackermann, the director of the State Art Collections in Dresden, where the protest is published on their website.

The possibility of close cooperation between the NGP and the Centre Pompidou was first mentioned by Babiš last year, suggesting that a branch of the famous institution could be established in Prague. He discussed this with the French president and also with President Serge Lasvignes. Fajt stated that the first presentation of the Centre Pompidou's collections in Prague would be an exhibition at the Salmovský Palace in 2021, showcasing about sixty "highlights" from Paris. In early April, representatives of both institutions signed a memorandum of cooperation.

At the beginning of this week, Fajt told ČTK that some partners with whom he collaborated as the head of the NGP are considering terminating their collaboration with the NGP following his dismissal. This was previously confirmed by collector Erika Hoffmann, whose collection of modern and contemporary art is exhibited at the Salmovský Palace. Fajt also mentioned that an exhibition showcasing art from the royal collection in northern India's Rajasthan would not take place this year.

The NGP then stated in a press release that this exhibition had not yet been secured by a contractual relationship, and Indian partners informed NGP management on April 30 of their intention not to continue their preparations for the exhibition project. "The exhibition exceeded NGP's financial capabilities, and despite the unquestionable art-historical quality of the collections, NGP management took this information into account. NGP has not received any further statements from its foreign partners regarding the suspension of cooperation," the gallery stated.