Brera Academy contract faculty demand better conditions, threaten thesis block

At the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan, contract faculty from the New Technologies department have formed a "Coordinamento dei Docenti Precari" (Precarious Teachers' Coordination), presenting 19 demands to the administration and threatening to halt new thesis supervision. The 30 signatories seek inclusion in the Board of Directors, conversion of Co.Co.Co. contracts to fixed-term, higher hourly pay, and compensation for unpaid extra-didactic work. The department, located at Brera 2 in Viale Marche pending relocation to the former Farini railway yard, relies on external contract teachers for 80% of its faculty, teaching 640 students. Director Giovanni Iovane defended the contract system as a resource, noting that Brera has around 200 contract teachers and that converting them to permanent roles is beyond the academy's authority, requiring ministerial reform of the AFAM sector, which has been incomplete since the late 1990s. Iovane called the thesis boycott "inopportune" amid the pandemic emergency. Paola Di Bello, director of the Photography School within the department, acknowledged the teachers' grievances but stressed that many issues, such as the lack of competitive exams, fall under ministerial responsibility. A face-to-face meeting is scheduled for the following week.