An Italian museum of contemporary art is protesting government austerity measures in a drastic way: by burning their inventory.

Led by director Antonio Manfredi, the Casoria Contemporary Art Museum in Naples kicked off the protest this week by setting fire to a painting by French artist Severine Bourguignon.

Though the museum receives no public funding, Manfredi claims that government budget cuts along with the recession have eliminated what private funding sources it had, and all the while the local Camorra mafia gains the upper hand.

The museum, which has around 1,000 acquisitions, plans to burn three artworks each week until the government responds to its concerns. 

The artists whose works are being set on fire to have given their blessing to the act, and other European artists, such as Welsh sculptor John Brown, are rallying behind the cause.