Friends of the Academy

Join the Friends of the Academy and become part of the American Academy in Rome, one of the leading American overseas centers for independent research in the arts and humanities.

For more than 114 years the Academy has offered time, support, and an inspiring environment to some of America's most gifted artists and scholars. Many Academy fellows and residents have had a significant influence in the worlds of art, music, culture, literature, scholarship, and education.

Friends will receive news of the Academy and its fellows, programs and events. Membership dues support the Academy's on-going operations, including the annual Rome Prize competition, programs, and residential life, and the Academy's buildings and grounds.

Please join us today. The support of Academy Friends is more important than ever.

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Friends of the Academy in Italy

Help support the American Academy in Rome by becoming a member of the Friends of the Academy in Italy. Our purpose is to help promote cultural and social exchange between the community at the Academy and those of us who call Italy home. By becoming a Friend you will be included in the academic, artistic and social life at the Academy, and provide much needed financial support to this American institution in Rome.

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Friends of the Library

Academy Fellows and Residents, artists, scholars and other readers in the Academy's Arthur & Janet C. Ross Library, as well as booklovers worldwide are cordially invited to join the Friends of the Library of the American Academy in Rome.

The Friends of the Library was founded 1961 by library readers so that they could help build the library's collections with their annual dues and special initiatives. For nearly half a century, the FOL has provided important financial support for acquisitions, and has helped to raise awareness of the library through regular programs presenting the work of its readers.

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International Council of the American Academy in Rome

The International Council of the American Academy in Rome is an association of individuals committed to the founding principles and to the future of the Academy. Members of the International Council share in the Rome Prize experience through an annual trip to the Academy with tours in and around Rome, special events at the Academy including concerts, exhibitions, readings and studio visits, as well as an annual briefing with Academy leadership. Additional special events in the United States will include attending Fellows' concerts, exhibition openings and readings, touring new or restored buildings and landscapes, joining reading groups, visiting studios and experiencing all that Academy Fellows and Residents have accomplished since their time in Rome. Membership is open to all, but the size of the group is limited.

For further information, please contact:

Christiana Killian
Development Associate
American Academy in Rome
7 East 60 Street
New York, New York 10022
c.killian@aarome.org

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Member Institutions - Humanities

American colleges and universities have been Member Institutions of the American Academy in Rome since 1895, when the program was created by and for the American School of Classical Studies in Rome, which merged with the American Academy in Rome in 1912. Each Member Institution appoints three faculty members to serve on the Advisory Council to the Committee on the School of Classical Studies, the Trustees Committee that oversees Academy programs in the humanities.
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Member Institutions - Arts and Culture

The American Academy in Rome has initiated a membership program for arts and cultural organizations. The benefits of membership include Affiliated Fellowships at the Academy.
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Society of Fellows

The Society of Fellows, which traces its origins to the organization in 1910 of the Association of the Alumni of the American Academy in Rome, is composed of all Rome Prize Fellows. A council elected by the members represents the views of the Society of Fellows in regard to significant concerns of the Academy and serves as a liaison between the Society and the Academy.
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Classical Society of the American Academy in Rome (CSAAR)

The Classical Society of the American Academy in Rome, open to all friends and alumni of the Academy, has traditionally provided the means by which members of the Classical Summer School and Visiting Scholars have coordinated their efforts to support the Academy. It has been especially generous in supporting the Library and funding scholarships for the Classical Summer School, and it plays an essential role in maintaining contacts with the regional classical societies.
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2010 Cabaret (New York)


On October 26, 2010, the American Academy in Rome will host a Cabaret in New York City.

Tuesday October 26, 2010
Doors open at 7:00pm
Tickets: $150 per person
Sponsorships available

Part of our Centennial Celebration

Performances by:

Lisa Bielawa, FAAR'10
Molissa Fenley, FAAR'08
John Kelly, FAAR'07
Nico Muhly
David Sanford, FAAR'03, and the Pittsburgh Collective
and more...

Angel Orensanz Foundation
172 Norfolk Street
New York, New York

For further information, please contact Jennifer Dudley at j.dudley@aarome.org or 212-751-7200 ext. 12



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2010 McKim Medal Gala (Rome)

Photograph of Miuccia Prada by Guido Harari

The American Academy in Rome is pleased to announce that Miuccia Prada is the 2010 McKim Medal Laureate. The award is in recognition of Ms. Prada’s exceptional achievements in fashion and business, as well as for her contributions to the visual arts as co-founder of the Fondazione Prada.

The Medal will be presented to Miuccia Prada on Wednesday, May 26th at the sixth annual McKim Medal Gala at the Villa Aurelia of the grounds of the American Academy in Rome. Proceeds from the gala support fellowships that provide both Italian and American winners with important opportunities to pursue their individual studies and engage in an international dialogue of scholarship and the arts.  Funds raised by the event allow Italian artists to join the Academy community each year, and support an exchange program for scholars in the humanities that links the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa with the American Academy in Rome.

Carmela Vircillo Franklin, Director of the American Academy in Rome stated, “Miuccia Prada has achieved worldwide recognition for her inimitable vision, constant innovation, and exceptional contributions to fashion and the arts. Together with her husband, Patrizio Bertelli, she created the Fondazione Prada, which has gained respect as a top international not-for-profit for contemporary art. We are honored to have her as the sixth McKim Medal laureate, joining our efforts to foster artistic and scholarly pursuits, and continuing the international dialogue that the American Academy in Rome and its supporters aim to cultivate and sustain.”

Robert Storr, Dean of the School of Art at Yale University and Trustee of the American Academy in Rome, will present the Medal. A leading figure in the art world, Mr. Storr has been awarded the medal of Chevalier des arts et des lettres by the French Ministry of Culture and was named Director of the 52nd Venice Biennale in 2007, becoming the first American to hold that distinction.
 
The McKim Medal was established by the Trustees of the American Academy in Rome in 2005 as an annual prize that honors an individual whose work internationally – most particularly in Italy and the United States- has contributed significantly to the arts and humanities. Named for Charles Follen McKim (1847-1909), noted architect who established the Academy in 1894, the Medal recognizes an individual whose work and life exemplify creative and intellectual exchange across the arts, scholarship, language, and culture. Previous McKim Medal laureates include Renzo Piano, Cy Twombly, Umberto Eco, Franco Zeffirelli, and Ennio Morricone.

For more information, contact Bill Franklin (tel. +39 06 5846 433, b.franklin@aarome.org) or Milena Sales (tel. +1 212 751 7200 ext. 36, m.sales@aarome.org).

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2010 Annual Awards Dinner (New York)

Larry Gagosian and Robert Storr

The American Academy in Rome held its Annual Tribute Gala Dinner at New York City’s Plaza Hotel on Wednesday April 14, the first event in a year-long celebration of the Academy’s 100 years as one institution for both artists and scholars in one home atop the Janiculum in Rome.

Hosted by Adele Chatfield-Taylor, William B. Hart, and dinner chairmen Mr. and Mrs. Sid R. Bass, the gala honored two important art world figures: Larry Gagosian, who was presented by the renowned Picasso scholar John Richardson, and Robert Storr, who was presented by Trustee Chuck Close, RAAR’96. The evening included a live auction conducted by Sotheby’s star auctioneer Jamie Niven, who sold a week’s stay at the stunning Villa Santa Teresa at Borgo Finocchieto in Tuscany to a winning bidder for $28,000.

The gala raised over $1.4 million towards the Centenary Celebration and the comprehensive campaign for the Academy’s future, including in key areas such as arts programming, fellowships, information technology, the library and sustainability in all areas of Academy life. The April 14 event hosted an illustrious group of over 300 guests, including Trustees of the American Academy in Rome, Anthony and Daisy Ames, Hamish Bowles, Annette de la Renta, Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia, John Guare, Michael Graves, Daphne Guinness, Agnes Gund, Ellen Phelan, Diana Picasso, Ronald Lauder, Richard Meier, Bette Midler, Bruce Nauman, Susan Rothenberg, Joel Shapiro and Laurie Simmons, Robert A.M. Stern, Billie Tsien, Tod Williams, Lisa Yuskavage, among others.

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2009 American Academy in Rome Cabaret

On December 2, 2009, the American Academy in Rome will host a Cabaret in New York City.

Performers include Laurie Anderson, RAAR’06, Derek Bermel, FAAR’02, Molissa Fenley, FAAR’08… Lou Reed and more. The venue is hard to beat: the Angel Orensanz Foundation at 172 Norfolk Street, in New York’s Lower East Side.
 
Tickets are $150 per person prior to the event, $300 at the door.

Sponsorships are also available at $10,000 (and 10 tickets), $5,000 (and 5 tickets) and$1,000 (and 1 ticket). All net proceeds will benefit the fellowship that is the American Academy in Rome.

For further information please contact Jennifer Dudley at j.dudley@aarome.org or call her at (212) 751-7200, ext 12.

Make a Donation

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2009 McKim Medal Gala (Rome)

In Honor of Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone, winner of the 2009 McKim Medal.
Medal designed by Cy Twombly, crafted by Vhernier.

On 3 June 2009, the American Academy in Rome hosted the 5th annual McKim Medal Gala at Villa Aurelia in Rome. Dinner co-chairs Academy Trustee Verdella Caracciolo de Benedictis and Valentina Moncada Fontes Williams brought together some 230 guests to honor Maestro Ennio Morricone and celebrate his long and distinguished career. The Maestro has composed scores for more than 450 ?lms and more than 100 concert pieces since 1946, and conducted his ?lm music and concert works for symphony orchestra and polyphonic choir in more than 100 countries worldwide since 2001.

Guests included the family of Maestro Morricone’s lifelong friend and distinguished collaborator director Sergio Leone. Daughter Francesca Leone painted a portrait of Maestro Morricone speci?cally for this occasion, and her sister Raffaela Leone introduced the Maestro as the ceremony to present the McKim Medal began.

Many Academy Trustees and leaders in Italian business, art, scholarship and culture committed to fostering international exchange and understanding also attended the ceremony and dinner. Their support for this evening makes possible Academy fellowships for Italian artists and scholars, including an exchange program with the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa that annual allows one Academy fellow to spend a year in Pisa.

For further information, please see the attached PDF for the program of the 2009 McKim Medal Gala in Honor of Ennio Morricone.
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2009 Annual Awards Dinner (New York)

Celebrating the Arts: Honoring Thom Mayne, Bruce Nauman, RAAR’87, and Jessye Norman
On 15 April 2009, more than 250 Trustees, Fellows, and Friends of the American Academy in Rome gathered at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City for the Academy’s Annual Awards Dinner.

Calvin Trillin was Master of Ceremonies for an exceptional evening at which the Academy honored three artists with the Centennial Medal: broadcast journalist Charlie Rose presented the medal to architect Thom Mayne; Robert Storr, Dean of the Yale School of Art, conferred the medal upon artist Bruce Nauman and soprano Jessye Norman received her medal from Walter Isaacson, President and CEO of the Aspen Institute.

The American Academy in Rome’s Centennial Medal is awarded to individuals who contribute significantly to the arts and humanities to which the Academy is dedicated. The medal itself was designed in 1994 by Roy Lichtenstein, RAAR’89, Academy Trustees Emeritus, in honor of the 100th Anniversary of the Academy’s founding. The Academy’s initials appear at the center of a double-faced Janus, the Roman God who looks to the past and to the future and symbolizes the balance between the ideal and the real. Janus has long been associated with the Janiculum Hill, the site of the American Academy in Rome.

The experience of Rome and its resonances throughout a lifetime of work were unforgettably described by Bruce Nauman in his acceptance remarks. He told of being an Academy Resident and receiving special permission to climb to the top of the conservator’s scaffolding in the Sistine Chapel to see, and to touch, the traces left by Michelangelo’s hand. Few in the room will forget this moving remembrance or Jessye Norman’s thank you in song: “This Little Light of Mine/I’m gonna let it Shine.”

The gala dinner was organized and hosted by co-chairmen Robert Beaser, FAAR’78, Wendy Evans Joseph, FAAR’84, and Laurie Simmons, RAAR'05, together with Honorary Chairmen, Mr. and Mrs. Sid R. Bass, H.E. Ambassador and Mrs. Giovanni Castellaneta, Ambassador of the Republic of Italy to the United States of America, Mr. Richard Grubman and Ms. Caroline Mortimer, Mr. and Mrs. H. Charles Price and H.E. Ambassador and Mrs. Ronald Spogli, former United States Ambassador to Italy and an Artists Committee. Many of these artists contributed CD, catalogues or other publications to the gift bags to thank guests for their support of the evening, the arts and the American Academy in Rome. The evening raised more than $400,000 for the Academy.
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2008 McKim Medal Gala (Rome)

On Thursday 29 May 2008, the American Academy in Rome awarded Maestro Franco Zeffirelli the McKim Medal at a Gala dinner at Villa Aurelia. This annual prize honors an individual whose work internationally exemplifies creative and intellectual exchange across the arts, scholarship and culture. McKim Medal Laureates include Renzo Piano (2005), Cy Twombly (2006) and Umberto Eco (2007).


Mrs. Ronald P. Spogli was Honorary Chairman of the evening, with Mercedes T. Bass, Verdella Caracciolo de Benedictis and Valentina Moncada as Co- Chairmen.

More than 330 individuals attended this dinner, coming to Rome from the United States, United Kingdom, France as well as from many parts of Italy. Mercedes T. Bass presented the medal to Maestro Franco Zeffirelli, and read remarks of congratulations from Placido Domingo.

Dear Franco,

Although I am relatively nearby over here in Barcelona singing Walküres, I am very sad that I cannot be with you on this glorious night.

I just want to tell you that I always dearly remember and will forever deeply cherish all the fantastic work that we did together on stage or on celluloid.

From the carefree, happy go lucky attitudes of Turidu and Rodolfo and the gallant strength of Calaf and Alfredo to the jealous destructive souls of Don Jose, Canio and Otello, I enjoyed taking those performing voyages under your inspiration and guidance.

Congratulations on your fabulous artistic journey and on this very special night.

With all my love,

Placido

Proceeds of this evening endowed the Maestro Franco Zeffirelli Affiliated Fellowship for Italian artists and scholars at the American Academy in Rome.
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2008 Annual Awards Dinner (New York)

The American Academy in Rome held its annual Awards Dinner on Wednesday evening at Cipriani 42nd Street, in New York City on 15 April 2008. More than 315 friends of the Academy attended this memorable evening during which Robert B. Silvers awarded the Centennial Medal to scholar and author John Richardson, and H.E. Ambassador Giovanni Castellaneta awarded the Medal to H. E. Ambassador Ronald P. Spogli, the United States Ambassador to Italy.

In the highlight of the evening Chairman of the Board David M. Childs, RAAR'04, awarded, for the first time, the American Academy in Rome Medal of Excellence to philanthropist and Academy Trustee Mercedes T. Bass, in recognition of her exceptional service to the Academy.

The 2008 Awards Dinner was chaired by Mr. and Mrs. Oscar de la Renta, with Dr. & Mrs. Henry Kissinger, Mr. & Mrs. Sonny Mehta, H.E. Ambassador & Mrs. Antonio Puri Purini, Lord Rothschild, and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman serving as Honorary Chairmen. John Guare was Master of Ceremonies.

The evening raised over $1,000,000, a sum that was matched by an anonymous donor, bringing the total raised for the evening to more than $2,000,000.
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2007 Friends of the Library Book Fair

On November 8, 2007 Fellows, Residents, Trustees and Friends of the Academy from all over the country, and from Europe, came together at the Metropolitan Club in New York City to celebrate the dedication of the Arthur & Janet C. Ross Library.

The occasion, hosted by the Friends of the Library, was a Book Fair of recent works contributed by more than 100 Fellows, Residents, Visiting Scholars and Trustees. On view – and on sale to benefit the Library – were books on architecture, gardens, works of art, war, classical drama, photographs, mountains, museums, hills and nudes; there were sketchbooks, books of fairy tales, books of poetry, children's books and guide books; investigations of Mussolini, Napoleon and Pinocchio; Studies of Naples, Venice, Malta, Caracas, the alleys of Galveston, the streets of Los Angeles and, of course, many books about Rome. There were also catalogues of exhibitions, CDs of Fellow's compositions, and DVDs of operas, films and dance.

It was a vivid demonstration of the breadth and depth of scholarship and artistic work that results from time at the Academy and in the Arthur and Janet C. Ross Library. Those attending had the opportunity to meet the authors, talk with them about their studies and have books signed. The Book Fair was also an opportunity for Fellows and Residents to meet each other. Some reconnected with old friends they had not seen since Rome, and others met authors for the first time who they had long known only through their work.

As the books were contributed by the authors, and the event was sponsored by the Friends, all of the proceeds of the Book Fair went to the support of the Library.

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Donate to the Annual Fund

Make a Donation
Download PDF to donate by mail

The American Academy in Rome is a private institution supported by gifts, grants and membership fees of individuals, foundations, corporations and leading colleges, universities and arts and cultural organizations.

Contributions to the Annual Fund provide crucial unrestricted operating support to help make possible the Academy's present activities and its vital future. These donations are fully tax-deductible and will be gratefully acknowledged and recorded in the Academy's annual report.


Gifts of Cash
Checks made payable to the American Academy in Rome may be mailed to the:

American Academy in Rome
7 East 60 Street
New York, NY 10022

Gifts of Securities
Donors wishing to make a stock gift are asked to contact Curt Sharp, Academy Vice President for Finance and Administration, at (212) 751-7200 extension 15 or mailto:c.sharp@aarome.org.

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Naming Opportunities

The American Academy in Rome is honored to recognize individuals, families, foundations, corporations and organizations for their generous commitment to the Academy and its mission. Named fellowships, residencies, book funds, and programs as well as studies and studios record the commitment that generations have had to the Academy, and to creating and sustaining this irreplaceable American overseas center for advanced study and independent research.

For information about naming opportunities, please contact Elizabeth Gray Kogen, Vice President for Development at (212) 751-7200, extension 27 or e.g.kogen@aarome.org.

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Sponsorship

The Academy presents a full schedule of public events each year in Rome, including concerts, conferences, exhibitions, lectures, and readings. These events attract an international audience, and attention in the Italian and American press. The Academy also organizes special presentations at various venues in the United States.

For information on sponsorship opportunities and benefits, please contact Jennifer Dudley, Associate Director of Development at (212) 751-7200, extension 12 or j.dudley@aarome.org.

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McKim and Morgan Society

The McKim & Morgan Society is named for Charles Follen McKim and J. Pierpont Morgan, founders of the American Academy in Rome. Their visionary leadership created the Academy, located it on the highest hill within the ancient walls in Rome, and began the endowment that established the Academy and helped to assure its permanence.

The McKim & Morgan Society is comprised of individuals who have made a commitment to the future of the American Academy in Rome by including the Academy in their estate plans, and have provided gift documentation to the Academy. Members include those who have written a charitable gift to the Academy by bequest, made a life income arrangement for the benefit of the Academy, or named the Academy as beneficiary of a retirement plan or life insurance policy.

For information about joining the McKim & Morgan Society, please contact
Elizabeth Gray Kogen, Vice President for Development at (212) 751-7200, extension 27 or e.g.kogen@aarome.org.

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