The Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum will be headed by Zanda Ķergalve, the current head of the Riga Municipal Association of Cultural Institutions, but the competition leader Una Sedleniece withdrew her candidacy due to the lack of support from the ministry.
The open-air museum will be run by Ķergalve; the competition leader withdraws the candidacy due to lack of support from the ministryMara Rosenberg00:00 / 04:49
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The issue of the director of the Open-Air Museum has received a lot of attention due to its previous management: for 11 years the director was Ilze Millersone, with whom the Ministry of Culture tried to terminate the employment relationship six years ago. However, he regained his post in court. Last year for that there were problems renew accreditation. And this spring, the Ministry of Millerson discounton the basis of various infringements.
Three months after the announcement of the competition, the new head of the museum was identified on Thursday. Ķergalve has been leading the Riga Association of Cultural Institutions since 2009, and was also among the organizers of the 2008 Song Festival and Riga 800. As the main priority in the new position, she emphasized the museum’s unique cultural heritage, but the first tasks will be to get acquainted with the museum’s documentation, evaluate the staff and the procedure for using funding.
Decision of the Museum Council on the management of the Open-Air Museum
In the Council of Museums, 8 people supported the candidacy of Zanda Ķergalve, 5 abstained and 2 voted against. The Council, as a consultative body, also made its recommendations:
1. The Ministry of Culture to determine the probationary period for the candidate selected by the commission for the performance of the duties of the position of the Director of the Museum, defining specific tasks essential for the operation and development of the Museum;
2. In view of the situation in the Museum, characterized by the long-standing and systematic shortcomings in personnel management and economic activities, which have prevented the Museum from accrediting in a timely manner, the Ministry of Culture calls on the Museum, including the Director for the activities of the candidate for the position, providing the necessary support and consultations.
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“Along with the exposition – these wonderful buildings, historical evidence – both tangible and intangible – I still see this museum as a place where we learn about the beginnings of the formation of the Latvian state’s national self-confidence. I will stick to it and believe that the mandate I have given me is to make the museum work in accordance with the law, to preserve its cultural heritage – that is its primary – and, of course, to develop into a public and interesting museum and leisure place, where to return again and again, ”said Ķergalve.
The new head will need a strong backbone to make unpleasant decisions, admitted the director of the National History Museum Arnis Radiņš, who has been the director of the Open-Air Museum since the spring:
“I have also been sent a complaint from an employee who is not satisfied that he has to work at this short moment. Many people need to understand that we have to work and that we live in a different environment than in a moss village. ”
However, the press conference revealed that the highest number of points out of 16 applicants in the jury’s evaluation was received by another candidate, who eventually withdrew the application. Latvijas Radio is known to have been a long-term specialist in the museum industry and from today also the chairman of the Museum Council Una Sedleniece.
She was once the Deputy Director of the Open Air Museum and six years ago won the Director’s competitionbut couldn’t stay in it because of his post attiesāja her predecessor Millersone.
Sedleniece is currently the Deputy Director of the Latvian National Museum of Art. In a conversation with Latvijas Radio, she admitted that she had made the decision to withdraw from the competition after more than four weeks had passed since the last round, but during the talks with the Ministry’s management, she was not convinced of her support for her candidacy.
“In the meantime, I have been invited to several talks with the leadership of the Ministry – Ministers and State Secretaries –
and in the course of these negotiations, I became convinced that my candidacy did not have the necessary support from the ministry’s leadership.
I think that such support in the current situation of the museum is absolutely necessary to bring about the changes that are expected of the museum in the near future. I felt that the management of the Ministry of Culture was more inclined to trust another candidate in this position of director. I accept and respect it – that’s how it happens in competitions, “said Sedleniece.
She emphasized that she did not oppose the competition and would not deny advice to the new director if the need arose. However, the Minister of the Industry Nauris Puntulis (National Union) commented on the hesitation with a reluctance to make hasty decisions, which he had previously been accused of, because both highly rated candidates were very strong.
“In the end, I realized that I couldn’t procrastinate too long, and I decided to nominate the candidate who had the highest score for the position of museum director. With such an oral order, I addressed the Secretary of State, who replied to me that my decision was overdue because the candidate who had obtained the highest score had already written a refusal. ‘
Zanda Ķergalve will take up the position of the director of the Open-Air Museum in the middle of November.
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