Bisaccia's Open Letter to Minister Messa on AFAM Reform

Antonio Bisaccia, President of the National Conference of Directors of Academies of Fine Arts and the National Academy of Dramatic Arts, responds to Minister of University and Research Maria Cristina Messa's speech at the inauguration of the academic year at the Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti di Torino on March 7, 2021. In his open letter, Bisaccia praises Messa's recognition of the need for multidisciplinarity and alignment of AFAM (Alta Formazione Artistica, Musicale e Coreutica) with universities. He outlines urgent actions: completing the transition of second-tier faculty to first-tier, issuing national rankings for recruitment, funding for building safety especially post-COVID, establishing AFAM PhD programs, adequate FFO funding, contractual parity for AFAM teachers, completion of state takeover, reconstitution of the CNAM, and a regulatory framework for research. He also calls for the new DPR on recruitment and governance, the creation of 'polytechnics of the arts', and a comprehensive reform via a delegation law. The letter emphasizes the cultural and economic importance of AFAM institutions as an Italian brand abroad.