AppointmentJuly 23, 2021
Controversial Lay Off and Appointment
Last Thursday, July 15, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona (MACBA) made public the appointment of Elvira Dyangany Ose as the museum's new director. The press release informed that the General Council of the MACBA Consortium endorsed the proposal of a committee of experts and that Dyangany Ose replaced Ferran Barenblit, who was the director for the last six years.
Elvira Dyangany Ose's credentials leave no doubt as to her training and ability to lead the institution, and what would have been news of an appointment became controversial when on Friday, July 16, the institution's chief curator Tanya Barson and Pablo Martinez, head of programs, were informed by email that they were being dismissed effective immediately. The fact prompted a statement from Barson, who on her Facebook page reported "(...) our imminent dismissal as a result of the proposed modification of the organizational model of the Museum, which had been approved the day before by the General Council of MACBA formed by representatives of the City Council of Barcelona, the Ministry of Culture and the MACBA Foundation." In the model approved by the General Council, Barson says "all the departments of the curatorial area and programs are under a single "Directorate of Conservation and Research," which assumes all the functions, as it contains the departments of Collection, Exhibitions, Public Programs, and Independent Studies Program"... It also creates a new Directorate of Conservation and Research, which oversees all curatorial work and programs of the museum, which duplicates the role of the director." Barson and Martinez expose how this new structure of "neoliberal governance is above the design and development of content."
It should be noted that the MACBA issued another press release where it explains: "The MACBA Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona wants to clarify some erroneous information that has circulated on social media in recent hours concerning the termination of two positions, Tanya Barson, chief curator, and Pablo Martinez, director of programs, from the time of the former director of MACBA, Ferran Barenblit. First, we thank them for their professionalism, dedication, and the work they have carried out over the last five years. No dismissal is pleasant, and we regret the written communication that has been made as to the last opportunity due to the impossibility of meeting with them. Further on, they state, "In no case, does the Management accumulate more power, quite the contrary. This change is due to a mandate from the institution's governing bodies to review the organizational chart to adapt the institution to the post-Covid scenario and thus initiate a new stage with a new direction, new content, and, above all, a museum closer to the citizens."
The issue brings to the fore the unethical and disrespectful way of dismissing professionals and workers of art institutions in a unilateral gesture and with the complicity of both public and private organizations that should look after their workers. Likewise, the model proposed by MACBA as an institution, which made it internationally recognized for its critical stances, is also discarded.
Elvira Dyangany Ose's credentials leave no doubt as to her training and ability to lead the institution, and what would have been news of an appointment became controversial when on Friday, July 16, the institution's chief curator Tanya Barson and Pablo Martinez, head of programs, were informed by email that they were being dismissed effective immediately. The fact prompted a statement from Barson, who on her Facebook page reported "(...) our imminent dismissal as a result of the proposed modification of the organizational model of the Museum, which had been approved the day before by the General Council of MACBA formed by representatives of the City Council of Barcelona, the Ministry of Culture and the MACBA Foundation." In the model approved by the General Council, Barson says "all the departments of the curatorial area and programs are under a single "Directorate of Conservation and Research," which assumes all the functions, as it contains the departments of Collection, Exhibitions, Public Programs, and Independent Studies Program"... It also creates a new Directorate of Conservation and Research, which oversees all curatorial work and programs of the museum, which duplicates the role of the director." Barson and Martinez expose how this new structure of "neoliberal governance is above the design and development of content."
It should be noted that the MACBA issued another press release where it explains: "The MACBA Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona wants to clarify some erroneous information that has circulated on social media in recent hours concerning the termination of two positions, Tanya Barson, chief curator, and Pablo Martinez, director of programs, from the time of the former director of MACBA, Ferran Barenblit. First, we thank them for their professionalism, dedication, and the work they have carried out over the last five years. No dismissal is pleasant, and we regret the written communication that has been made as to the last opportunity due to the impossibility of meeting with them. Further on, they state, "In no case, does the Management accumulate more power, quite the contrary. This change is due to a mandate from the institution's governing bodies to review the organizational chart to adapt the institution to the post-Covid scenario and thus initiate a new stage with a new direction, new content, and, above all, a museum closer to the citizens."
The issue brings to the fore the unethical and disrespectful way of dismissing professionals and workers of art institutions in a unilateral gesture and with the complicity of both public and private organizations that should look after their workers. Likewise, the model proposed by MACBA as an institution, which made it internationally recognized for its critical stances, is also discarded.
