Shake-up at the top of one of Philadelphia’s most emblematic cultural institutions: the Philadelphia Art Museum ’s Board of Trustees has in fact voted to dismiss Director Alexandra “Sasha” Suda, effective immediately. The decision was made on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, after an emergency meeting. Suda had come to lead the institution, formerly known as the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in 2022. Born in 1981, originally from Toronto, Canada, and coming from the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario, where she had served as director for three years, Suda was in the third year of a five-year contract.
Although the news spread quickly in the U.S. press, the official reason for the dismissal was not disclosed. According to initial rumors, Suda was reportedly informed of the termination via email, indicating a termination “for cause” (for cause). However, the museum merely stated in a statement that since it was an “internal matter,” it would not provide further details. The board stressed that it was focused on maintaining the museum’s mission as it enters its 150th year of operation. Pending the identification of an interim director, the day-to-day management of operations has been entrusted to Louis Marchesano, deputy director of Curatorial Affairs and Conservation.
While the reasons for the dismissal were not made explicit, Suda’s farewell follows a few weeks after the launch of a rebranding campaign that raised ill feelings and was therefore deemed controversial. A month before his removal, Suda had overseen the institution’s official name change from “Philadelphia Museum of Art”-a designation in use since 1938-to “Philadelphia Art Museum.” The project, developed with the agency Gretel, had also involved the unveiling of a new logo and visual identity.
The stated goal of the rebranding was to modernize the brand for new generations of patrons and to transform the museum into a more collaborative, dynamic and futuristic institution. Suda herself had justified the name change, saying that the new “Philadelphia Art Museum” (PhAM) formalized the way both locals and visitors colloquially called the museum. Furthermore, the director argued that if something like rebranding generated debate around the institution, this was to be considered positive, regardless of whether the reactions were positive or negative, because it stimulated conversation about a place that people cared deeply about.
Despite stated intentions, public and internal reaction to the rebranding was mixed, if not overtly negative. The campaign cost at least $250,000, and many detractors criticized the new visual identity, likening the logo to that of a soccer team, brewery, or hipster coffee shop, while others perceived it as “dystopian” or reminiscent of the Cold War era.
The most significant dissent, which seems to have contributed to the leadership crisis, came from some board members. One of these, Yoram (Jerry) Wind, expressed his misgivings to the Philadelphia Inquirer, stating that he was surprised at the manner and timing of the launch, and saying that the Board was expecting a final draft before approving the project, thus suggesting that the rebranding went ahead without Board involvement. Although some Board members, such as Jennifer Rice, were more supportive of the rebranding, they still acknowledged that the Board should have been informed about the launch date.
The controversial rebranding comes amid a complex and challenging period throughout Suda’s tenure. Since her arrival in 2022, the new CEO had been tasked with overcoming several challenges, including recovering from the slowdown caused by the pandemic and modernizing the brand. One of the first and most intense obstacles faced by Suda was the strike of unionized staff. The museum staff had unionized in the summer of 2020. A few days after Suda’s tenure began in September 2022, more than a hundred workers began a historic nineteen-day strike to protest contract negotiations that had been going on for nearly two years. Although the strike had ended in October with the ratification of a new agreement, labor tensions were rekindled afterwards, with union accusations in June 2023 that a contractual clause on seniority-based pay increases had not been respected. A new three-year contract was ratified in late July.
During his tenure, Suda, who had gained a reputation in Canada for promoting diversity among staff and exhibiting artists, and for enhancing the museum’s interaction with indigenous communities, pursued an agenda of change focused on inclusion in Philadelphia. His initiatives include the 2025 launch of the Brind Center for African American Art and the mounting of the group exhibition The Time Is Always Now, which highlighted contemporary African artists. It also helped secure a joint exhibition with the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) of 120 American masterpieces from the John and Leigh Middleton collection.
The termination of the contract, which came so unexpectedly and with the use of the formula “for cause,” leaves the institution in a state of vacant leadership and uncertainty just as the city prepares for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the museum for its 150th birthday.
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| Philadelphia Art Museum director fired after controversial rebranding campaign |
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