‘Exhausted’ life models at Florence art academy threaten nude protest

Life models in Florence have pledged to take their fight for better working conditions to the courts—and have even threatened to strip off in public in protest.

In comments to the local edition of the newspaper Corriere della Sera, nude models at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze described their work as “exhausting”, involving long, static poses with only short breaks. They argued that their renewable annual contracts, offering 500 hours of work spread over 11 months, fail to reflect the physical and psychological toll of the job.

“We sometimes do eight-hour sessions, with a ten-minute break every 30 minutes. We go home limping and mentally drained,” one model said. “We have no protection: no insurance, no paid leave, no sick days—not even a digital timecard to register attendance.”

One model said those affected were considering legal action in an administrative court and staging a nude protest in the courtyard of the academy’s headquarters.

Institution with 16th-century roots

Founded in 1784, Florence’s fine arts academy occupies a former 14th-century hospital and traces its roots to the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno, the prestigious body established by Cosimo de’ Medici in 1563, whose members included Michelangelo and Artemisia Gentileschi. Today, the academy has nearly 2,000 students enrolled in undergraduate and master’s programmes.

Under rules introduced by Italy’s ministry of universities and research last year, life models employed by public institutions no earlier than 2022 who have completed at least three years of service following an official recruitment process should be offered a permanent contract. But according to the academy’s interpretation, models hired more than three years ago under simplified procedures do not qualify, Giancarlo Iacomini, the president of the ABC union representing those affiliated with art and music academies, tells The Art Newspaper.

He said ten life models—some of whom have worked at the academy for over 30 years—were affected. “To expect them now to have gone through a formal recruitment process, when none was foreseen at the time, is deeply contradictory,” Iacomini says.

He added that he had met the academy’s director, Gaia Bindi, on 9 April to seek a resolution. Bindi argues she was simply applying ministry rules, but Iacomini countered that institutions had “the right and duty to interpret the rules they are asked to apply”.

Iacomini says that the ministry’s rules apply to all art academies, adding that it was “good news” that models in Florence were standing up for their rights.

A press officer for the academy says that three senior staff met the life models on 7 April, and subsequent meetings with union representatives aimed to “stabilise [the models’] position and properly value their irreplaceable contribution to education”. A new public recruitment notice will soon be published, in which previous contracts “held in the specific job role” will count among the assessed qualifications.

Previous protest

This is not the first time models in Florence have staged protests. In 2009, they demonstrated against low pay and insecure contracts, with some posing nude outside galleries, dressing as Venus or standing topless in shop windows with nooses around their necks.

Iacomini says he would seek further meetings with the academy’s leaders in search of a resolution. “We hope this path can finally provide a definitive answer to the rightful expectations of those who… have served institutions while respecting this country’s rules.”