American Academy in Rome

Shruti Swamy, our 2024 #RomePrize Fellow in Literature, is thinking expansively about motherhood and caregiving while working on her novel, “Margret and Vishnu,” as well as a short-story collection. The effect of a Rome Prize on a writer can certainly be felt while at the Academy. “My project is broadly about the role of community in family life,” said Swamy, “so it has been wonderful and not totally unconnected to my writing to be part of the family community in 5B” (referring to the number of the building where AAR houses fellows with children). But the fellowship provides experiences that may take time to develop. “During the spring trip we traveled to a little town on the Amalfi Coast called Ravello … one of the most hauntingly beautiful places I have ever been in my life. Ravello has literally nothing to do with what I’m working on, but I can’t help but feel that walking through the long, green finger of the garden there did something to me and to my work—it’s just too early to say what yet.” Read the full interview with Shruti Swamy at aaarome.org. 📸 by @claudiagori

Temperatures reached 37 degrees Celsius today in Rome. That’s 98 degrees Fahrenheit! Stay cool, drink plenty of water, and be safe, everyone! ☀️ 📸 of our front fountain by @claudiagori

“I was excited to come to Rome to experience the collapsing timeline of human history that comes with being in a place of continuous human habitation,” says Kate Soper, our 2024 Frederic A. Juilliard/Walter Damrosch #RomePrize Fellow in musical composition (@katesopermusic ). “Eventually, I found this sensation to be somewhat exhausting.… But this feeling itself fed my project.” While at the Academy, Soper is working on “Orpheus Orchestra Opus Onus,” a monodrama for soprano and orchestra which Soper will perform with the New York Philharmonic in May 2025. This composition “presents Orpheus—part vaudevillian, part tragic icon, part composer nerd—wondering at his legacy as the begetter of the Western musical canon while the orchestra takes us through it,” she tells us. “I want to make a case for an alternate conception of music’s purpose in our lives, and for the enduring presence of the human voice.” Read the full interview at aarome.org. 📸 by @claudiagori .

A stunning view looking eastward from the windows of the McKim, Mead & White Building, courtesy of Elpida, a photographer and 2024 Fellow Traveler. Thank you, @elpidaphotos !

Get ready for an exclusive peek into the mind of young pianist and composer @baldwingiang ! In the upcoming interview, we dive deep into his creative process and inspirations leading to his concert “Scenes from the Post-Diaspora” during the 67th edition of Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto @festivaldispoleto . Stay tuned! 🎶 “Scenes from the Post-Diaspora” is presented by Mahler & LeWitt Studios @mahlerlewitt and the American Academy in Rome @amacademyrome , in partnership with Carla Fendi Foundation @carlafendifoundation Production: Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi @festivaldispoleto Video production & editing: Carla Fendi Foundation @carlafendifoundation

“Drawing with a thick piece of black charcoal is cathartic. I hadn’t drawn on a large scale for many years, but creating strong, decisive lines and examining them to find their visual meaning with each other gave me the opportunity to channel everything that I was experiencing while being at the @amacademyrome .” Roman passageway, David’s Version. #AmericanAcademyinRome #RomePrize #FellowsInFocus #DavidWeeks #DavidWeeksStudio #DavidWeeksNYC #designaward #designawards #behindthescenes #designprocess #behindthedesign

Last Thursday we opened our gates on a beautiful evening for #SummerOpenStudios . About 1,300 people filled the studios, gardens, courtyard, and terraces to experience visual, musical, and literary works created by fellows in the arts. Visitors encountered artworks, installations, musical performances, and readings from fellows in architecture, landscape architecture, historic preservation and conservation, literature, musical composition, and visual arts. 1. The plant specimens that landscape architect Lauren Stimson (@wearestimson ) organized in her studio encouraged visitors to embrace the outdoors. 2 & 3. Visitors to Kamrooz Aram’s studio (@kamroozegar ) experienced the unpredictable light there. “As the days have grown longer, I have developed the habit of keeping the studio lights off and finishing work by sunset,” he said. 4. Among the “five lines of inquiry” in the studio of architect Ajay Manthripragada (center) are clay objects, made with a pottery wheel that evoke architectural terra cotta, and large-format composite photographs of a roof tile manufacturer in India. (@ajaymanthripragada ) 5. Erica Hunt (@ericahuntpoet ) read from her book-length hybrid poem/prose project “Mood Librarian” while accompanied by a clarinetist. 6. Attendees converse in the studio of Mike Cloud (@mikecloudartist ), who showed paintings inspired by picket signs, deli placards, and high school pennants. 7. Jeanine Oleson (@jeanineoleson ) shared her research into the development and effects of visual perspective in the history of Italian art and architecture. 8. Back in Lauren Stimson’s studio were drawings and paintings in graphite, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, and charcoal. 9. “In many ways a sculpture is a dance partner leading your body into the next movement,” said Estefania Puerta Grisales (@este_puerta ), “and the question is whether you make the movement about absence or presence.” 10. Xu Bing (@xubingart ) inspects new photographs by another 2024 Resident, James Welling (@jamescwelling ), who opened his studio. All photos by @flavioscollo

The third edition of our new #TalkingArchitecture series, happening tomorrow, Tuesday, June 11, 6pm, will feature Mario Gooden (@mario_gooden_thisishowwework ), 2024 Resident and founder of @mariogoodenstudio , a transdisciplinary practice dedicated to the design and exploration of architecture and its relationships to culture and knowledge; and Francesco Careri principal from STALKER, a Roman collective entity that conducts research and actions on territories with a particular focus on marginal realities, abandoned areas, and territories in transformation. The lecture and conversation will be moderated by our Andrew Heiskell Arts Director, Ilaria Puri Purini (@ilaria_puripurini ). Talking Architecture is a series of talks in collaboration with La Sapienza University (@sapienzaroma ) dedicated to new orientations and outstanding achievements in contemporary American architecture. It is an opportunity to explore cross-sections of American architecture, from tradition to innovation, new materials and sustainability, territories and landscapes, and the social role of architecture in its surroundings. Inviting Italian studios to dialogue with American architects, Talking Architecture provides the occasion to discuss theoretical approaches and applied research practices between the two countries. The series will participate further in advancing global contemporary debates around architecture, landscape, and design.

The #McKimMedalGala2024 is a splendid occasion where familiar faces gather in Rome to celebrate the Academy, arts, humanities, and each year’s distinguished honoree. Many of our loyal supporters join us annually, and we are equally excited to welcome new friends, exciting surprises, and such a diverse audience, both local and international, who have come to honor the incomparable Sofia Coppola. This wonderful evening wouldn’t have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors, who set the perfect tone for every moment. A heartfelt thank you to @belvederevodka , @paoloenoemiadamico and @fiolprosecco for their unwavering support. We look forward to seeing you next year! Photos in order:  1. @mapurinegri (Chair of the Gala) talking to Calvin Tsao (Chair of the Board of Trustees)  2. The garden in the Villa Aurelia for the reception  3. @fiolprosecco being served during the reception  4. Filmmaker @paolosorrentino_real chatting with @ginevraelkann (Honorary Gala Chair)  5. Presenter of the McKim Medal, Rachel Feinstein and Sofia Coppola with the medal designed by Cy Twombly and handcrafted by @bvlgari 6. @paoloenoemiadamico wine on the garden tables 7. @kamroozegar (2024 Fellow) being awarded the Carla Fendi Rome Prize (@carlafendifoundation ) by @ninaapons 8. @sofiacoppola and @dante.ferretti 9. @belvederevodka in the bar 10. @applejacksmusic playing in the after party (Photos by Gerardo Gaetani and Riccardo Lopez)

Thanks to everyone who joined us for our annual #McKimMedalGala at Villa Aurelia, where Sofia Coppola (@sofiacoppola ) was awarded the McKim Medal “for her brilliance, her generosity, her visionary filmmaking,” in the words of AAR Director Aliza Wong (@wongamico ). Brilliantly chaired once again by the great Margherita Marenghi Vaselli (@mapurinegri ), the gala was a demonstration of the deep support we are so lucky to have in Rome and Italy. We’re grateful to Presenting Sponsor @bvlgari and all of the other corporate and individual supporters who helped make this evening so memorable. Grazie a tutti! (📸 by Gerardo Gaetani and Riccardo Lopez) @villaaureliagianicolo

Fellows & Academy Trustees recently visited #Pompeii and the ongoing excavations at Pompeii’s Regia IX, where, just this week, stunning photos have revealed “Sala Celeste,” a small room with rare blue frescoed walls, located off of the “Salone Nero,” a banquet room unveiled in April. Allison L. C. Emmerson (@allison.emmerson ), AAR’s interim Mellon Humanities Professor and an archaeologist who leads the Pompeii I.14 Project in Regia I, reacted to the finds: “The house these rooms belonged to was under redecoration at the time of the eruption, and piles of rooftiles and other building materials—even a stack of oyster shells, possibly to be crushed as temper or simply the remains of a workman’s meal—heighten that magical sense that can emerge from Pompeii: that the past residents have stepped out for a moment, and we, two thousand years later, can peek into their lives.” But, she notes, “we should not ignore the cruelties and injustices that structured Roman experience, also evidenced by the work in Region IX.” Read Allison Emmerson’s full summary on aarome.org. #archaeology #pompeii (All photographs released by the Italian Ministry of Culture.)

#FellowsInFocus Mary-Evelyn Farrior is a Columbia University PhD candidate in Classical Studies and our 2024 Emeline Hill Richardson/Jesse Howard Jr. #RomePrize Fellow. Her project, “Inscribing Community: Mapping Greek Inscriptions in Imperial Rome,” examines the foreign communities of Rome through Greek inscriptions. The Greek language, Farrior argues, was not only a means of communication, but also a way for multicultural groups to build community in a Latin-dominated city. Analyzing a corpus of inscriptions as both archaeological objects and texts, Farrior seeks to unite objects that have previously been studied individually, analyzing maps of their provenience to locate “clusters” where Greek inscriptions are more common (and are evidence of these multicultural neighborhoods). Esquiline, Fora, and Trastevere are three examples. According to Farrior, the inscriptions tell us far more than simply that these communities existed; they also tell us about the activities, commerce, religion, and organization of the people who lived there. And they raise questions: How did foreigners maintain their unique identity in Rome? And how did they impact the landscape of Rome? “Since I have been in Rome, I have been able to go out into the city, see the sites and inscriptions that are the topic of my chapters, and really incorporate their materiality and archaeology into my analysis,” says Mary-Evelyn Farrior. Full interview on aarome.org. Mary-Evelyn Farrior presented a lecture today at Open Stacks 2024—look out for it on our YouTube channel—and participated in an AIAC conference in March hosted by AAR. (Photos by @claudia.gori )