A row has damaged out over honest pay after Italy’s main archaeological museum launched a controversial images competitors providing the winners publicity however no charge.
The Nationwide Archaeological Museum of Naples (MANN), famed for its unrivalled collections from Pompeii and Herculaneum, issued a public discover in March inviting contributors to {photograph} objects from collections that embody the oldest surviving depiction of Atlas, carbonised scrolls from Herculaneum, and busts of Roman emperors, many from the Baths of Caracalla. Contributors, aged 18 to 30, had been requested to submit photos of as much as three works from a listing of 14 collections, starting from mosaics and frescoes to artefacts from Historic Egypt. Submissions closed on 16 Could.
The museum mentioned successful photos might be circulated by way of its social media channels and used to create banners for show on its principal façade. The intention, it added, was to “actively contain the general public in communication campaigns” and “give visibility to the work of younger artists and creatives”.
Nevertheless, the discover made clear that submitting photos didn’t entail any “obligation or profit” for contributors. Winners wishing to make use of their photos past the competitors, together with for industrial functions, must request permission from the museum and might be charged copy charges.
The initiative has drawn sharp criticism. “Sure, you could have learn accurately,” posted Mi Riconosci, a gaggle representing tradition sector staff and college students, on Fb. “MANN provides no fee, although it would obtain a lot of high-quality pictures to make use of in methods that can even generate financial returns.” Corriere della Sera referred to as it “advertising with unpaid pictures”.
Rosanna Carrieri, the president of Mi Riconosci, advised The Artwork Newspaper that the museum was “underestimating what it means to be a photographer” by providing visibility as a substitute of pay. The competitors, she added, mirrored a broader pattern of cultural establishments anticipating individuals to work for them without spending a dime. “Museums, libraries and archives are all responsible of the identical,” she mentioned. “Within the case of MANN, we’re speaking about a vital establishment.”
Accusations of unpaid cultural work have repeatedly made the headlines. In September 2024, the Civic Museum of the Norman Fortress of Aci, close to Catania, marketed for a brand new director however provided no pay. Two years in the past, the city-run Galata Maritime Museum in Genoa sought an English-speaking volunteer with experience in migration historical past and social media to organise occasions.
MANN officers have defended the initiative. Slightly than in search of revenue, the museum needs to create a method to “enter into dialogue” with younger individuals, says Raffaella Bosso, the museum administrator who devised the competitors. She says she is accountable for updating promotional banners and selected to launch the competition although the museum already has many high-quality pictures.
“Photographers ought to be paid for his or her work—nobody ought to must work without spending a dime,” Bosso says. “However on this case, we didn’t really feel it amounted to an employment relationship … We’d not have launched the competitors if it weren’t with a view to welcoming younger individuals, to placing the museum and our experience at their disposal.”
Bosso says MANN provided to debate considerations in a gathering with a few of these affected however to date has not obtained a response. Carrieri says Mi Riconosci has had no direct contact with the museum. Regardless of the criticism, MANN has not withdrawn or modified its initiative. “The discover stays as it’s,” Bosso says.
Carrieri argues that the true drawback shouldn’t be lack of funds however how cultural establishments select to spend them. Italian society, she says, sees cultural work as a pastime, providing staff “horrible contracts and plenty of hours of unpaid work”. Nevertheless, she provides that opposition to this strategy is rising. In February, Mi Riconosci launched an enchantment for a nationwide cultural staff’ strike, which she says might happen this September. “There’s a widespread want to participate, to demand recognition,” she says. “Cultural staff are more and more conscious of their plight.”
