Artforum

NEWS: Gallery Director’s Dismissal Ignites Syracuse Protest

The ouster of the founding director of an art gallery overseen by Syracuse University has drawn protest from academics and art professionals there, reports Nadja Sayev for the New York Times. The director, Astria Suparak, of the Warehouse Gallery, said that Jeffrey Hoone, who oversees the university’s art centers, had told her on September 7 that she would be dismissed effective September 30. She said he did not give a reason beyond saying that the gallery was being restructured. Carole Brzozowski, the dean of [the College of Visual and Performing Arts at] Syracuse University, said the content of gallery shows organized by Suparak had nothing to do with her dismissal. But people in the arts at Syracuse, including university art teachers, asserted that the ouster was related to risk-taking or innovative exhibitions she had organized since becoming the director last year. Suparak said of Hoone: “My aesthetic is very different from his.”

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http://artforum.com/news/#news15839