The City of Krakow dismissed Adam Budak as director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow (MOCAK) on May 16, citing improper performance of duties related to work organization and team management. Budak, who took the helm last summer, was replaced by acting director Grzegorz Kuźma, formerly the museum's deputy director, and will be officially terminated when his contract ends June 30. The dismissal followed an internal investigation spurred by a complaint signed by thirty-seven MOCAK staffers. In response, artists and curators including Paulina Olowska, Sabine Breitweiser, Alison Gingeras, and Candice Breitz signed a petition demanding Budak be heard, while several artists withdrew from MOCAK's 2026–27 programming.
This matters because the abrupt firing of a museum director over staff complaints—and the ensuing backlash from prominent international artists and curators—highlights tensions between municipal governance and institutional autonomy in Poland's cultural sector. The mass defection of artists from future exhibitions threatens MOCAK's programming and reputation, while Budak's planned legal appeal and the city's defense of its decision underscore a broader debate about leadership, transparency, and artistic freedom in publicly funded contemporary art museums.