Salman Rushdie is among 170 figures to sign an open letter regarding the departure of the Barbican arts leader Barbican

Salman Rushdie, John Akomfrah and Pankaj Mishra are among more than 170 cultural figures who have signed an open letter to the Barbican expressing their concern over the departure of its artistic director Devyani Saltzman.

Saltzman, who became director of arts and engagement at the Barbican in February 2024, will leave the institution amid a major change in leadership just weeks after its new chief executive joined.

Saltzman was recently named one of the 40 most influential women working in the arts in the UK, and has been described as the driving force behind the organisation. Her departure comes months after she revealed a five-year creative vision for the Barbican.

“We are writing as a group of global-majority creative and cultural leaders and allies to express our deep disappointment and alarm at the decision to shorten Devyani Saltzman’s term,” the letter said.

“Ms Saltzman was appointed to great fanfare as a senior artistic leader, with a mandate to shape the Barbican’s artistic vision and deepen its relationship with communities. Her departure, after a relatively short period in the role and coinciding with the arrival of a new CEO, raises serious questions about the organization’s commitment to maintaining global majority leadership at the highest levels.”

Saltzman will leave the organization in May and there are no plans to replace her. In the past 18 months, she has become the public face of the Barbican, presenting her vision in several interviews.

She was frank about the need for London’s cultural institutions to have leadership that reflects the diversity of the city in which she lives. In 2024, she said, “We are actually in a new wave of next-generation leadership that will hopefully change the paradigm.”

The Barbican said it was unable to comment on matters relating to individual employment. But the letter’s signatories, who also include Grammy-nominated sitar player and composer Anoushka Shankar, musician and producer Nitin Sawhney, American playwright David Adjmi and Indian novelist Kiran Desai, said this was “no ordinary HR case”.

“This is a major public cultural institution, funded and placed under the custodianship of the people of this city and this country. The decision affecting its highest artistic role, one of the very few leaders of ethnically diverse South Asian heritage in its history, has sector-wide and community-wide implications,” they said.

Other signatories include British-Pakistani novelist Camila Shamsie, Armenian-Canadian director Atom Egoyan, British curator Mark Seely, and former British Council arts director Skender Hundal. Many have worked with, in and around the Barbican area for decades.

They called on the Barbican Board and the City of London Corporation to publicly clarify whether the role had been formally eliminated, the processes that led to the decision, and how artistic leadership at the Barbican would now be set up.

They also requested the publication of data on the diversity of senior leadership and governance at the Barbican.

In a response seen by The Guardian, the head of the Barbican Centre, William Russell, confirmed that he was unable to comment on a confidential matter involving a staff member, and linked this to the center’s press release celebrating Saltzman’s contribution.

The leadership of the Barbican has undergone many changes over the past five years. In 2021, Nicholas Kenyon resigned from his position as managing director after 14 years after staff told The Guardian that the Barbican Hotel was “institutionally racist”. He was followed by former BBC arts correspondent Will Gompertz, who left after two years in the role.

Saltzman joined during a row caused by the Barbican’s retraction from hosting a lecture by Mishra on the Holocaust and allegations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

The Barbican has been contacted for comment.