Julian Cox, the deputy director and chief curator of the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), will step down from his position this April after an eight-year tenure. While the museum's official statement praised Cox for expanding the collection and establishing the Department of Global Africa & the Diaspora, it offered no specific reason for his departure, and Cox himself was not quoted in the announcement.
This exit follows a period of significant internal turmoil at the AGO, triggered by the museum's controversial decision to cancel the acquisition of a Nan Goldin artwork following her public comments on the Israel-Gaza war. Cox is the latest high-profile figure to leave the institution in the wake of the scandal, joining curator John Zeppetelli and two members of the acquisitions committee who have also recently departed.