On November 17, the NGC’s Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Kitty Scott, Curator of Indigenous Art, Greg Hill, Director of Curatorial and Technical Research, Stephen Gritt, and Senior Communications Manager, Denise Siele, were fired, surprising and shocking the art world in Canada. Available to answer our questions in French on Friday, Angela Cassie did not wish to go into the details of the dismissals. At the very least, she recognizes “difficult decisions”.
Mme Cassie has been at the museum since January 2021. She first served as vice president of strategic transformation and inclusion before taking the reins of general management on July 10, 2020, Sasha Suda having left the museum to lead the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Angela Cassie has been in strategic transformation for almost two years.
PHOTO DAN HARPER, PROVIDED BY THE MMFA
Angela Cassie
She therefore considers it entirely justified to make personnel changes which, according to her, are made within the framework of the strategic plan. transform together, which now takes into consideration “the indigenous way of thinking” about museum management and programming. In order not only to involve Aboriginal people, but also to share with them the development of the museum.
“I had the mandate from the board of directors to ensure the implementation of the strategic plan and to create an environment aligned with the values of the institution,” she says. I am responsible for operations and therefore for personnel decisions. The plan requires a lot of transformations inside the institution to implement it. »
An Indigenous Ways and Decolonization department was created last February, headed by Indigenous people Steven Loft, appointed vice-president, and Michelle LaVallee, appointed director. Both will now lead the conservation teams, explains Ms.me Cassie.
Angela Cassie feels that the National Gallery of Canada has not always acted in the interest of building healthy relationships among all Canadians.
It happened to us, at times, not to have been entirely up to this mission and we knew how to recognize it.
Angela Cassie, Acting Director General of the National Gallery of Canada
The strategic plan aims to now put into practice “the principles of collaboration, engagement and inclusion”.
But why separated from Greg Hill and Stephen Gritt, major executives for the promotion of Aboriginal arts and the conservation of the collection? Angela Cassie does not want to go into “confidential” details. She says that the museum must “do things differently” and abandon ways of doing things deemed outdated for “the type of institution that we must and wish to embody”.
Was there a toxic climate within the museum?, asked The Press. “Certainly, in times of transformation, it comes with a lot of emotion within our teams,” she said. But we see progress and higher staff satisfaction rates in some departments. A healthy environment is a priority for us. »
Angela Cassie adds that the art lovers who frequent the museum are aging (77% are over 55) and that she must therefore reach out to a younger and more diverse audience. Will Angela Cassie stay on as general manager of the museum after the ongoing process to appoint a successor to Sasha Suda? “It’s a personal decision that I haven’t made yet,” she said. I joined this team because of this vision of transformation that excites me. I strongly believe in the need and desire to create an environment of inclusion and to strengthen community bonds. »