Salman Rushdie among 170 figures to sign open letter over Barbican arts lead departure | Barbican
Salman Rushdie, John Akomfrah and Pankaj Mishra are among more than 170 cultural figures who have signed an open letter to the Barbican expressing concern over the departure of artistic director Devyani Saltzman.
Saltzman, who became director of arts and inclusion at the Barbican in February 2024, is leaving the institution a few weeks later amid a significant leadership change. new CEO joins.
She was recently named one of the 40 most influential women working in the arts in the UK and Described as “the driving force behind the organization”. His departure comes months after he announced his five-year creative vision for the Barbican.
“As a group of global majority creative and cultural leaders and allies, we write to express our deep disappointment and alarm at the decision to shorten Devyani Saltzman’s tenure.” the letter said.
“Ms Saltzman was appointed, with great fanfare, as a senior arts leader with a mandate to shape the Barbican’s artistic vision and deepen its engagement with communities. Her departure, after a relatively short time in the role and coinciding with the arrival of a new Chief Executive, raises serious questions about the institution’s determination to maintain its global majority leadership at the highest levels.”
Saltzman will leave the organization in May and there are no plans to replace him. Over the last 18 months he has become the public face of the Barbican, setting out his vision in various interviews.
He said London’s cultural institutions should have leadership that reflects the diversity of the city they live in. “We’re actually in the wave of a new generation of leadership that we hope will change the model” in 2024, he said.
The Barbican said it could not comment on individual personnel matters. But the signatories, including Grammy-nominated sitarist and composer Anoushka Shankar, musician and producer Nitin Sawhney, American playwright David Adjmi and Indian novelist Kiran Desai, said this was “no ordinary HR issue.”
“This is a major public cultural institution funded and trusted by the people of this city and country. This decision, affecting its top artistic role and one of the very few leaders of South Asian and racial diversity heritage in its history, has industry- and society-wide implications,” they said.
Other signatories include Pakistani-British novelist Kamila Shamsie, Armenian-Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan, British curator Mark Sealy and former British Council artistic director Skinder Hundal. Many have worked in and around the Barbican for decades.
They called on the Barbican board and the City of London Corporation to publicly state whether the role had been officially deleted; the processes that led to the decision; and how artistic leadership at the Barbican will now be structured.
They also called for the publication of data on the diversity of the Barbican’s senior leadership and management.
In his response, seen by the Guardian, the Barbican’s chairman, William Russell, reiterated that he could not comment on a confidential matter involving a member of staff and was connected to the management of the centre. Press release celebrating Saltzman’s contribution.
The Barbican’s leadership has gone through many changes over the last five years. In 2021, Nicholas Kenyon resigned after 14 years as chief executive after staff told the Guardian the Barbican was “institutionally racist”. He was followed by former BBC arts correspondent Will Gompertz, who left after two years on the job.
Saltzman attended during the row that arose over the Barbican’s refusal to host a talk by Pankaj Mishra on the Holocaust and allegations of Israeli genocide in Gaza.
The Barbican has been approached for comment.
