Torino Musei Foundation to lay off 28 workers, close GAM art library

The Fondazione Torino Musei, which manages GAM – Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, MAO – Museo d’Arte Orientale, Palazzo Madama, and Borgo Medievale, has initiated a collective redundancy procedure for 28 employees, with formal proceedings starting December 28. The cuts include 13 workers at Borgo Medievale, 6 at the GAM Art Library, 6 at the Fototeca, and 3 at the Museo Diffuso della Resistenza. The library, which holds 140,000 volumes, will close and its collection moved to an unspecified location. The decision follows budget cuts by the current municipal administration. GAM director Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev praised the library's role in the museum's recent permanent reinstallation, unveiled days earlier, but staff protested during the December 19 press conference, claiming they learned of the layoffs through the media. A petition on Change.org was launched by the R.S.U. of Fondazione Torino Musei. Turin's culture councillor Francesca Leon stated that the board adopted a plan to ensure business continuity but insisted it must be negotiated with employees. She hinted at a future governance change expanding the foundation's scope to include regional museums, which could allow staff redeployment, with the new statute expected to take effect by the opening of the Museo di Scienze Naturali in spring 2019. In 2015, then-president Patrizia Asproni had already imposed reduced library hours, sparking protests by art history students from the University of Torino.