Earlier this month, the Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá announced on Instagram that it had terminated its contract with longtime artistic director Eugenio Viola. Now, Viola is claiming that the board of directors did so after he raised concerns with working conditions at the museum.
In a statement to the Art Newspaper, Viola, who began serving as artistic director in 2019, said, “The board of directors ended my contract early, not due to any artistic or leadership deficiencies. My departure followed my decision to raise concerns with the board in September 2025 regarding the progressive deterioration of working conditions—concerns shared by several team members. Instead of conducting an internal review, the board dismissed these issues and terminated my contract.”
The museum, in its official statement on February 6, said that the decision to move on from Viola came “as a result of a comprehensive and ongoing review of the different aspects that make up our museum.” MAMBO also said it had already begun the process of selecting a new artistic director.
The museum did not respond to a request for comment on Viola’s accusations about his contract termination at press time.
Prior to his tenure at MAMBO, Viola was a senior curator at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts in Australia. He also held positions at the Museum D’arte Contemporanea Donneregina in Naples, Italy, and curated the Italian Pavilion at the 2022 Venice Biennale.
