With Tuesday’s announcement that the Philadelphia Museum of Art, one of our country’s preeminent art institutions, has named its new leader—Sasha (short for Alexandra) Suda, it may begin recover from the tumultuous last chapter of Timothy Rub’s impressive 13-year reign there. Suda, 41, is touted in the above-linked press release as having “a proven commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access [DEIA],” making her “the leader we need at this transformational moment.”
She is also “the youngest person to be named director and CEO of the the National Gallery of Canada since World War I” (in the words of the above-linked press release). She has served in that capacity—her sole museum directorship—for barely three years, after a stint as curator of European art at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Before that, she had been a research assistant and then a Mellon Research Fellow at the Metropolitan Museum, New York (2003-2011).
I rued Rub’s unceremonious departure from the PMA’s directorship (announced in August, but formalized in January), much as I did Gary Garrels‘ resignation-under-pressure in July 2020 from his position as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s senior curator of painting and sculpture. Both had served in their late-career posts with great distinction, overseeing brilliant exhibitions and more: In Rub’s case, there was a Frank Gehry-designed expansion/renovation; in Garrels’—a sweeping reinstallation of the permanent collection (which I had praised here), impelled by SFMOMA’s 2016 Snøhetta-designed renovation and expansion. But their fatal flaw was not paying sufficient attention to the current sensitivities and imperatives regarding DEIA, which seriously impacted staff morale and created a toxic atmosphere.
Speaking of which, I had tweeted this (with my photo of Timothy Rub at the PMA’s 2012 Winslow Homer-inspired show—Shipwreck! Winslow Homer and The Life Line, where he warmly praised curator Kathleen Foster):
Both Rub and Garrels did some verbal backpedaling from their criticized positions, but that wasn’t enough to allow them to comfortably continue in their posts. The damage was done. Rub, at least, was honored with the title of “director emeritus,” in recognition of his important accomplishments in the post.
As of this writing, Suda’s “From the Director” page on the NGC’s website is silent about her impending departure, saying only that “moving forward, we will continue to align acquisitions and exhibitions with a fresh focus on interconnection.” Presumably, the as-yet-unnamed future director of the NGC will be the one to focus on “moving forward”: Suda is scheduled to assume her Philly post on Sept. 21.
She has announced her intentions to do what most leaders say they’re going to do when they’re not deeply familiar with the institution where they have landed—“to listen deeply to understand what the staff is working on and build together from there,” in the words of the PMA’s spokesperson.
She will certainly get an earful about the protracted labor negotiations—a big rally is planned for next Tuesday at 6 p.m. on the “Rocky” steps:
In response to my query about the current status of the labor dispute, the PMA’s spokesperson said this:
Initial union contracts take time. This contract is no exception. The museum is committed to reaching a collective bargaining agreement that achieves the best outcome for our staff while sustaining the museum for generations to come. We know that’s only possible with highly motivated, dedicated staff.
Nonprofit institutions have been significantly impacted by the pandemic. We have reached tentative agreement on a number of important issues. She [Suda] does not begin at the PMA until September 21, and will need to come up to speed on the union negotiations here, but she shares the commitment of our board and leadership team to reach a fair and appropriate agreement.
When I asked the spokesperson about Rub’s future plans (retirement at age 70? maybe writing a book?), I got a two-letter answer: “tk”—newspaper-speak for “to come” (aka: TBA). I’m guessing that my last in-person encounter with Rub may have been our brief chat at the Whitney Museum’s press preview for its recent Jasper Johns retrospective, which was divided between the NYC and Philly venues. (Travel during the pandemic was, for me, problematic, so I saw only the New York half.)
Aside from highlighting her commitment to DEIA, the press release about Suda’s appointment had relatively little to say about her professional accomplishments:
Suda successfully restructured, re-visioned, and reinvigorated all aspects of the AGO’s European works on paper collections and programs. Her exhibition, Small Wonders: Gothic Boxwood Miniatures [co-organized with two other curators] received glowing reviews….In 2020, she chaired the jury that chose Stan Douglas to represent Canada at the Venice Biennale.
In addition, according to the PMA’s spokesperson, Suda had instituted at the NGC “a cultural and strategic transformation” with “a new first-ever strategic plan, including rebranding and engaging both internal colleagues and neighboring cultural institutions.”
Before he landed in Philly, Rub had amassed indisputably impressive credentials, with directorships at three other art museums to his credit: the Hood Museum (Dartmouth), the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art.
But back to Sasha: What are her ideas for stabilizing and energizing the Philadelphia Museum?
Like Tim’s future plans, the answer, so far, is “tk.”
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