The American Academy in Rome, in collaboration with the Society of Fellows, was pleased to host the Society of Fellows Reunion in Rome for the first time last week, from July 6–8. We welcomed more than fifty former Fellows, Residents, Affiliated Fellows, and Fellow Travelers, who participated in lectures, readings, guided visits, performances, family-style dinners, and endless conversations and exchanges over the course of three days.
This first-ever Society of Fellows-organized Reunion celebrated the ongoing intellectual and creative life of the Academy community, offering alumni the opportunity to continue their engagement with the Academy by sharing their stories, reflecting on personal and professional milestones, and discussing what has changed and what has remained the same. The Reunion brought familiar faces together for both formal and informal conversations, encouraged the exchange of ideas, and reconnected participants with the city through a series of programs and gatherings.
"It's been 30 years since I've been in Rome, and it's just like coming home again," said Danny Samuels, 1986 Fellow in Architecture and co-founder of Taft Architects, along with John Casbarian and Robert Timme, making them the first trio to be selected as Rome Prize Fellows. "The Academy in particular—it feels like home."
"It's been such a wonderful three days," said Jessica L. Harris, 2024 Fellow in Modern Italian Studies and Associate Professor of History at St. John's University. "It's like being a Fellow again in a condensed version."
Ideas Shared Across Generations
More than a dozen former Fellows and Residents contributed to last week's programming, leading the group on wide-ranging visits—from a sound installation in the Academy's own subterranean cryptoporticus by Jennifer Scappettone, to walking tours of the historic Jewish Ghetto and the Black history of Trastevere, and an outdoor sketching workshop.
Activities included a group concert hosted by our friends at Spazio Supernova, featuring performances by Miya Masaoka (2023 Fellow), Igor Santos (2022 Fellow), Jennifer Scappettone (2011 Fellow), and Pamela Z (2020 Fellow); "Walks and Talks" throughout the city—including one with Peter Schmitt, who joined us from the class of 1972; an afternoon of readings and presentations; gallery tours; aperitivi; and meals organized by the Rome Sustainable Food Project.
"I've had a bajillion new ideas, and I've been just thinking so much," said Darian Marie Totten, 2010 Fellow in Ancient Studies and Director of Classical Studies at McGill University. "Having these conversations has been so rich and really energizing for me."
"Building that community and making connections between folks who were here thirty and forty years ago and those who were just here a year or two ago is really fascinating," said Aaron Allen, 2012 Fellow in Modern Italian Studies and Professor of Musicology and Director of the Environment & Sustainability Program at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. "We learned so much from thinking across years and across fields. It's just really enriching."
An Enduring Community
The Society of Fellows was founded a century ago to provide a public platform and forum for former Fellows and our extended community. They produce their own public programming, foster national and local networks of collaboration across generations, and celebrate the achievements of its members.
"You don't really know what happens to you here until after you leave," said Phu Hoang, 2017 Fellow in Architecture, President of the Society of Fellows, and Founding Principal of MODU. "The Society of Fellows exists for that moment afterward—for people to share what they've done and also reflect on what happened here."
"One of the greatest joys for me of being a Rome Prize Fellow has been becoming part of this broader community," said Anna Serotta, 2015 Fellow in Historic Preservation & Conservation and Associate Conservator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Being part of the Society of Fellows over the years—and the impetus for this reunion—has really been to continue to build on this extraordinary opportunity, this gift of community."
Both AAR Director Aliza Wong and Jennifer Pastore, 2002 Fellow in Design and Global Creative Director of Vanity Fair, reflected on how the reunion created what felt like a new Fellowship class of its own.
“What struck me most about this reunion was watching Fellows from different cohorts find each other and become a new cohort,” said Wong, “bound by that particular intellectual and creative generosity that makes the AAR what it is.”
"It feels almost like we have our own cohort again, where you realize that this experience lives on," said Pastore. "Any time you reengage with the community, it's all here for you."
“The Fellows are the focus of the Academy’s life in Rome, but they remain our chief institutional asset also, and perhaps even more, in the years and decades stretching out after their return from Rome,” said American Academy of Rome President Peter N. Miller. “This Reunion pays attention to that reality and marks a real turning point in our approach to the great value of our extended community."