{"id":251370,"date":"2025-10-31T02:22:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T02:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/251370\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T02:22:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T02:22:09","slug":"embattled-director-of-wexner-center-for-the-arts-resigns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/251370\/","title":{"rendered":"Embattled Director of Wexner Center for the Arts Resigns"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tGa\u00ebtane Verna, the embattled executive director of the Wexner Center for the Arts<\/a> at Ohio State University, will resign effective immediately. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe news comes a week after the Columbus Dispatch<\/a> reported that Wexner had accumulated a $1.1 million deficit in fiscal year 2024, and that more than a dozen employees signed a formal letter of no confidence in Verna\u2019s leadership. That letter was sent to university officials.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Dispatch reported that employees at the center were informed of the resignation in an October 29 email from Ohio State University Provost Ravi M. Bellamkonda. According to the email reviewed by the Dispatch, senior vice provost for academic affairs Trevor Brown will \u201cguide this transition in close collaboration with the center\u2019s leadership team\u201d until an interim leader is named.<\/p>\n

\t\tRelated Articles<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"The<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe Wex is well known for its outstanding staff of creative and dedicated professionals and, with your continued support, we will continue to serve the community and support artists from Ohio and across the globe during this transition and for many years to follow,\u201d Bellamkonda reportedly wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tVerna was appointed executive director of the Wexner in August 2022 after more than a decade leading Toronto\u2019s Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery as its director and artistic director. The Canadian Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale, titled \u201cKapwani Kiwanga:\u00a0Trinket,\u201d and commissioned by the National Gallery of Canada, was curated by Verna.<\/p>\n

\n\tShe inherited a Wexner facing financial turmoil worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic. The center\u2019s fiscal health and workplace culture appeared to deteriorate further after her arrival.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe center finished Fiscal Year 2024 about $2.5 million short of its projected income, the Dispatch reported, resulting in a $1 million deficit. A review of the Wexner Center Foundation board\u2019s finances also found that the center spent $365,000 on a website update, $185,000 on a new projector, and $1 million on \u201cunspecified capital expenditures.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOver the past three years, it is our opinion that her approach has resulted in high turnover, organizational dysfunction, financial instability, and reputational harm,\u201d reads the letter, as quoted by the Columbus-based Matter News<\/a>. (The 27 museum employees represented by Wex Workers United were not presented with the letter, as the union has its own protocol for bringing grievances to museum leadership.)<\/p>\n

\n\tOne year prior to the date the letter was sent, the Columbus Dispatch published a report in which Wexner staff members detailed a \u201ca culture of dysfunction perpetuated by the museum\u2019s executive director\u201d that forced the departure of more than two dozen employees.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe letter echoed many of these claims and pointed to new examples of alleged fiscal irresponsibility, including the university issuing the center a \u201cred card\u201d for financial turmoil and the launch of a major capital project with a reported budget of $1 million said to lack \u201ctransparent budgeting, staff consultation, or a completed feasibility study.\u201d The letter also criticized Verna\u2019s decision to direct university funds toward a series of exhibition catalogues, a project the signatories said would cost more than $200,000 and raised \u201cserious questions about fairness, transparency, and responsible budget use.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Dispatch reported in August that 23 employees left under Verna\u2019s leadership, citing current and former employees and HR documents. That month, the center\u2019s director of advancement operations and its head of finance and administration both announced their departures. In July, two employees were also laid off due to \u201ca lack of funds at the Wexner Center,\u201d as Verna wrote in an email shared with local press.<\/p>\n

\n\tDetails about interim leadership at the Wexner are still forthcoming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ga\u00ebtane Verna, the embattled executive director of the Wexner Center for the Arts at Ohio State University, will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":251371,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[76,354,355,49,48,356,75,117373],"class_list":{"0":"post-251370","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-ca","12":"tag-canada","13":"tag-design","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-wexner-center-for-the-arts"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/251371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}