The director of the MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow, Maria Anna Potocka, did not agree to terminate the contract by mutual consent, so the mayor of the city, Aleksander Miszalski, decided to initiate the procedure for its dismissal. This is the result of the court's judgment, which confirmed that Potocka, as the director of another city institution, used mobbing.
Mayor of Krakow Aleksander Miszalski announced his intention to end cooperation with the director of the city Museum of Contemporary Art MOCAK, Maria Anna Potocka (also: Masza Potocka) last week at a press conference. He then pointed to media publications regarding court proceedings regarding mobbing and the analysis of surveys conducted among MOCAK employees.
The local government official then said that he had talked to Potocka, presenting his position. “I cannot imagine further cooperation and I am asking her to settle this matter amicably – so that the director no longer holds her position from January 1,” the president said. He added that he appreciated Potocka's substantive knowledge and her contributions to Krakow and the museum itself, but he did not support her management standards and communication with employees. In his opinion, surveys conducted among MOCAK employees confirmed problems in the relationship between the director and her subordinates.
However, as the president's spokeswoman Joanna Krzemińska informed on Friday, Masza Potocka did not accept the proposal. The director did not agree to terminate the contract by mutual consent.
Masza Potocka is to be dismissed
– The Mayor of Krakow, Aleksander Miszalski, decided to dismiss Maria Anna Potocka from the position of director of the MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow. Maria Anna Potocka was informed about this decision, she said. She added that the reason for this decision was “negligence for the reputation of the museum and the city.”
– As part of this procedure, in accordance with the path resulting from the Act on organizing and conducting cultural activities, the mayor of Krakow asked for an opinion trade unions operating at MOCAK and professional and creative associations appropriate to the type of activity. Obtaining these opinions is a necessary element of the contract termination process, Krzemińska noted.
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MOCAK confirmed that the director was informed by e-mail about the initiation of the appeal procedure, but its representatives did not want to comment on the situation. Also at Thursday's press conference regarding new exhibitions at MOCAK, Maria Anna Potocka refused to answer journalists' questions about her continued work at the museum.
Letters in the Potocka case and resignation from the Nike Award jury
In reaction to President Miszalski's decision last week, 77 people wrote a letter in defense of the director. It was signed by, among others, people of culture, including Krystyna Janda, Krystian Lupa, Jacek Cygan and Adam Michnik, who defended the former director of MOCAK also at the Nike literary award gala.
The letter was written in response to this the second, directed against Potocka and signed by over 400 people. His message is: no one denies Potocka's contributions to culture and art, but in the light of the court trial which showed that she had committed mobbing, she should never manage people again. This letter was signed by, among others: Jacek Dehnel, Joanna Kuciel-Frydryszak, Sylwia Chutnik and Filip Springer.
Anna Maria Potocka herself, in response to the row surrounding her possible departure, made a decision resign from sitting on the jury of the Nike Literary Award. “I cannot allow the accusations against me to in any way jeopardize the prestige of this important Award,” she wrote in a statement.
Who is Maria Anna Potocka?
Maria Anna Potocka has been managing MOCAK since 2010, i.e. from the beginning of its operation. In March this year the then president of Krakow, Jacek Majchrowski, extended her contract for another seven years. At the same time, from 2019 to March this year, Potocka managed the Contemporary Art Gallery “Bunkier Sztuki”.
In July this year “Gazeta Wyborcza” reported that the curator was a victim of mobbing at Bunkier Sztuki, when the institution was managed by Maria Anna Potocka. The case went to a Krakow court, which decided in favor of the employee.
The MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art was established in 2010 on the site of the former Schindler's Factory. Masza Potocka has been its director from the beginning. Bunkier Sztuki is a contemporary art gallery located at Szczepański Square, in the very center of Krakow. Potocka managed the institution in the years 2002-2010, and later, in 2019, when the institution was to be merged with MOCAK. However, after protests, this plan was abandoned, and Potocka's term ended in 2024.
Main photo source: Łukasz Gągulski/PAP