New Philadelphia Museum of Art director addresses the 17-day strike and unveils Matisse exhibit

As striking employees chanted and picketed outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the institution’s new director, Sasha Suda, sent out a conciliatory message of hope for the future Wednesday during a preview of the Matisse exhibit held for members of the media.

“For me as you can imagine, this has been an intense period of observation, listening, and assessing what the future of the organization can and will be,” said Suda, noting that the strike has been going on since she began her job. “I know that the PMA board and leadership believes that the PMA employees are the foundation of [its] future.”

» READ MORE: With formal talks stalled, public officials look to kick-start negotiations to end PMA strike

Suda, 41, also said she worked at unionized museums prior to coming to Philadelphia, and stated, “I can only hope the coming days will bring us together.”

To the audience of about 100 local, national, and international media people, she added: “I think there’s a really exciting road that lies ahead and for our purposes that road begins with Matisse.”

Suda’s words came about a week before PMA’s much-anticipated “Matisse in the 1930s” opens to the public Oct. 20. It was also the 17th day that museum workers had been on the picket line, trying to get their first contract since they began negotiation talks two years ago. About 180 Art Museum employees are members of PMA Union, an affiliate of AFSCME-DC 47. The employees are seeking higher wages and better health benefits.

Some of those workers, including ones who carried signs that read, “Hey Sasha, Stop Hiding” and “NO Contract NO Matisse,” took a dim view of the director’s comments.

“I think if she said it to us it would mean more because we’re still stuck here,” said Sophia Meyers, a collections assistant who has worked for PMA for 10 years.

“We’ve never met her,” said Amanda Bock, a PMA curator for the last six years. “They could settle this today if they wanted to.”

The strike has been a particularly long one by museum-world standards. It’s elicited strong feelings among the public. On Sunday, the museum posted a message that it was disabling comments on its Twitter and Instagram feeds “due to the high volume of inappropriate posts -- including profane language.”

Some comments suggested “scabs” were hanging the Matisse exhibit.

Meanwhile, city officials have been working behind the scenes to try to bring the museum’s board of trustees and the striking workers closer to an agreement.

Suda was hired by the museum in June. She was previously director of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, a job she had held since 2019 and where she supervised unionized employees. She also worked for museums with union staff in Toronto and New York.

PMA spokesperson Norman Keyes said the ongoing labor conflict has caused some people to be reluctant to attend the exhibit and events such as its Members Only Previews this weekend, but good attendance is still expected. He said the museum expected “a few hundred” to attend a Saturday event, among them curators who have been working on the Matisse exhibit for seven years.

“Over 3,000 advance tickets have been issued so far,” he said of sales for the Matisse exhibit when it is open to the public. “We think it’s a reflection of the strong interest in the show.”

He said Suda is committed to bringing the labor conflict to a conclusion.

“Sasha’s team is working with dedication toward a resolution,” he said. “She is committed to building a bright future for PMA with a talented staff as its foundation, and, as noted in today’s remarks, moving forward into a new era for the museum.”