Governance of Italian State Academies of Fine Arts: A Virtuous Model Under Review

The governance structure of Italian State Academies of Fine Arts (AFAM institutions), featuring a dual leadership model with a President and a Director, is defended as a virtuous and wise choice by the legislator. The President holds legal representation, while the Director manages didactic matters, with the Director also sitting on the Board of Directors. This diarchy is praised for fostering teamwork and balancing powers, though critics call it complicated and prone to conflict. The author, President of the National Conference of Presidents of State Academies, argues that conflicts are rare based on personal consultations with all Presidents, and that the model brings professional and relational competencies from outside academia at no cost. A working group at the Ministry of University and Research (MUR) last year, composed of nine members, voted nearly unanimously to keep the governance substantially unchanged, with only one dissenting vote and one abstention. Proposed improvements include extending the term of President and Director from three to five years and clarifying their respective competencies in individual statutes. The Conference offers its expertise to MUR for further refinement.