The arts community in Greece has greeted the announcement of a Higher School of Performing Arts with optimism and scepticism. This new institution aims to resolve long-standing issues affecting the employment rights of Greek performing arts professionals, rectify inequalities with their peers in other EU countries, and improve labour mobility across the European Union. Additionally, it seeks to open pathways for Greek artists to pursue postgraduate studies in Greece and abroad, which the absence of a formalised academic structure had hindered.
Just 18 months ago, students from prominent institutions such as the Drama Schools of the National Theatre, the State Theatre of Northern Greece, and the State School of Orchestral Art, supported by a large segment of the artistic community, staged occupations at their schools and state theatre venues. This mobilization was a response to a presidential decree that downgraded their qualifications to a post-secondary level, impacting their professional standing and job eligibility. Private drama schools also filed a lawsuit, asserting that the decree violated European labour and education standards, particularly for the free movement of workers (Article 45 TFEU), freedom of establishment (Article 43 TFEU), and the European Directive (2005/36/EC) on professional qualification recognition.
The European Theatre Convention (ETC), Europe’s largest network of state-funded theatres, voiced support for the Greek students. The ETC warned that diminishing opportunities for theatre students and professionals risked alienating the next generation from theatre education, and questioned the recognition of foreign drama school degrees. The ETC argued that this situation conflicted with EU and UN efforts to ensure that artists receive the same rights, status, and benefits as other professions.
The roots of this problem date back to Greece’s delayed adoption of the Bologna Process, which was introduced to harmonize higher education across the EU. Most European countries shifted performing arts academies and schools from the jurisdiction of their culture ministries to education ministries, adapting their curricula and study durations to align with the Bologna standards. Greece, however, lagged, and the abolition of prior regulations that equated performing arts qualifications with those of higher education left many professionals and students in a grey area between higher and post-secondary education.
Greek Education Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis recently announced on social media that the new Higher School of Performing Arts (ASPT) would provide undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programs in theatre, dance, and music. The school’s five departments will be drawn from existing faculties within Greece's major arts institutions, including the National Theatre, the National Opera, the State School of Orchestral Art, the State Theatre of Northern Greece, and the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki.
While the arts community is waiting to see more details of the government’s plan, Mina Ananiadou, president of the Association of Dance Workers, told the Greek arts and culture site Parallaximag that a balance must be found between offering enough places for students across Greece and ensuring high-quality education and functional facilities.
The Greek government’s initiative marks a step forward for the country’s performing arts sector, but for many, its success will depend on the implementation details and the actual impact on the professional landscape for performing artists.
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Image: Spyros Chatziaggelakis
