Government advertises for New National Gallery Chair
Françoise Lyon (courtesy LinkedIn)
The federal government is advertising for a new chair for the board of trustees of the National Gallery of Canada to replace Montreal businesswoman Francoise Lyon.
Lyon was first appointed to the post at the end of 2017 to the usual five-year term. She was reappointed in 2022 to a two-year term. The National Gallery refused comment on the change referring questions to the Department of Canadian Heritage. Lyon was head of the board that hired Sasha Suda as gallery director and later named Angela Cassie as interim director when Suda decamped to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Lyon steadfastly stood in solidarity with Suda and Cassie as they embarked on a highly controversial revamping of the gallery, dismissing senior staff and embarking on policies designed to make the institution more welcoming to Indigenous people and visible minorities.
The first requirement listed to become gallery chair in the current search states the ideal candidate have “a graduate degree from a recognized university in a relevant field of study or an acceptable combination of equivalent education, job-related training and / or experience.”
The job also requires someone with “experience working or volunteering with organizations in the arts and cultural sector.” Other requirements are the usual years of experience in managing large organizations and serving on other boards.
Lyon was, like most of her predecessors, from the world of business and finance, not art. The government “prefers” Lyon’s replacement be bilingual but it does not appear to be a necessary requirement. Most previous chairs were not bilingual.
Source: Government of Canada
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