Italy wants to put Italians in top museum jobs. The chief of Milan’s Brera hopes to leave his mark

By COLLEEN BARRY
Associated Press

MILAN (AP) — The British-Canadian director of Milan’s Brera Gallery was hired in 2015 after the Italian government launched reforms that for the first time brought in foreign museum directors. His eight-year tenure is ending as Premier Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing administration seeks to again reserve top cultural jobs for Italians. But James Bradburne is continuing to innovate before his contract ends in September. He is working to expand a virtual version of the museum that gives users access to masterpieces around the clock and a voice in how the institution is run. Bradburne hopes his successor keeps the changes he oversaw but thinks Italy’s museum is structurally unsound because so much control rests in Rome.