Martha Ortiz has stepped down as director of Bogotá’s Museo de Arte Moderno (MAMBO) amid allegations of harassing staff and fostering a toxic work environment. The museum announced her retirement and will begin a search for a successor, with board president Ángela Royo and financial manager Francy Hernández assuming interim leadership. Ortiz, who had no prior museum management experience, took the role in March 2024. Her departure follows the ousting of artistic director Eugenio Viola less than three months earlier, after he raised concerns about deteriorating working conditions.
The back-to-back exits of top leadership signal a deep institutional crisis at one of Colombia’s most prominent modern art museums. Viola’s dismissal and Ortiz’s resignation, coupled with over 140 cultural figures signing an open letter demanding transparency, highlight systemic governance failures and the urgent need for accountability in museum management. The episode underscores broader issues of workplace culture and board oversight in the art world, with implications for staff morale and institutional credibility.