Sasha Suda has been dismissed from her position as director and CEO of the Philadelphia Art Museum after just three years in the role. The museum's board of directors expressed disapproval of the direction she had taken the institution since her appointment in 2022, citing several key issues with her leadership approach.

The primary reason for Suda's dismissal appears to be her failure to secure adequate fundraising for the museum. The board was reportedly dissatisfied with her inability to establish a more robust donor base and strengthen the institution's financial foundation. The final straw came when she launched a new visual identity and branding campaign for the museum without obtaining prior approval from the board of directors.

Suda also faced ideological tensions with the board over her focus on inclusion and diversity initiatives. According to The Philadelphia Citizen, which reported on these conflicts in August, some board members disagreed with what they perceived as her excessive emphasis on inclusion. They criticized what they saw as "too narrow a vision when it came to exhibitions" and expressed frustration with the "slow start to fundraising" under her leadership.

Born in former Czechoslovakia and raised in Canada, Suda built an impressive academic and professional background before taking the helm at the Philadelphia Art Museum. She studied art history at Princeton University, earned a master's degree from Williams College, and completed her doctorate at the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University, where she specialized in the cult of saints in medieval Bohemia.

Suda began her museum career in 2003 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, working as an art historian in the medieval art department. In 2011, she returned to Canada to join the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in Toronto as a curator. She then became director of the National Gallery of Canada in 2019, where she distinguished herself by establishing a department dedicated to Indigenous art and decolonization initiatives.

Her tenure at the Philadelphia Art Museum was marked by challenges from the very beginning. Shortly after she assumed her position in 2022, she faced a strike by recently unionized museum employees that lasted 19 days. The workers ultimately achieved some of their demands following the labor action.

The museum's controversial rebranding in October 2025 drew significant criticism from the press and art community. The new logo was widely mocked, with critics comparing it to a football team emblem, a beer brand, or teenage clothing company logo. Many observers suggested the redesign was an attempt to attract a younger demographic. The name change from Philadelphia Museum of Art to Philadelphia Art Museum, however, simply formalized what had already become common usage.

Despite the controversies, Suda did implement some significant initiatives during her time at the museum. Her most ambitious project was the creation of a dedicated wing for contemporary African art. The Brind Center for African and African Diaspora Art opened in 2023 with funding from trustee Ira Brind, representing part of Suda's broader policy of equity and highlighting minority voices in the arts.

She also organized a major exhibition featuring contemporary African American artists titled "The Time is Always Now," which aligned with her commitment to showcasing underrepresented communities in the museum's programming. These efforts reflected her ongoing dedication to making museums more inclusive and representative of diverse artistic traditions.

The dismissal of Suda highlights the ongoing tensions many art institutions face as they navigate between traditional approaches to museum management and newer philosophies emphasizing social justice and community engagement. Her departure raises questions about the challenges museum directors face when trying to balance board expectations with contemporary curatorial and social responsibility initiatives.