Open Studios 2026: Artists' Showcase
The American Academy in Rome invites the public to experience the work of its Rome Prize and Italian Fellows during Open Studios 2026. This special and extended iteration offers a rare opportunity to step inside the Academy's studios and creative spaces in the historic McKim, Mead & White Building, encounter works-in-progress, meet the artists, and experience firsthand the spirit of experimentation and exchange that defines life at the Academy. The evening will also include readings, performances, and concerts in the Garden, with a dedicated series of live acts on stage beginning at 7:30 pm.
Visitors will discover a wide range of projects—from the effects of rising temperatures in Rome to petrification fountains; from submerged vessels to volcanic shores. The natural world features prominently through detailed taxonomies of fishes in ancient Rome and tactile encounters with natural materials in search of shade. Works also explore social tensions within public spaces and record sonic reverberations of ancient sites, marble quarries, and Yup'ik masks, while experimenting with etching techniques, fragments, and performative objects. Research navigates ideas of belonging and diaspora while acknowledging the fragmented self; throughout the evening, scale, gesture, and composition are continuously renegotiated.
Open Studios
6:00 – 10:00 pm
Architecture
Mirko Andolina
Akima Brackeen
Cory Henry
Design
Heather Scott Peterson
Ginny Sims-Burchard
Environmental Arts and Humanities
Chuna McIntyre & Sean Mooney
Katharine Ogle & Adam Summers
Historic Preservation and Conservation
Claudia Chemello & Paul Mardikian
Landscape Architecture
Tameka Baba
Sean Burkholder & Karen Lutsky
Literature
Musical Composition
Lembit Beecher
Marta De Pascalis
Oswald Huỳnh
Visual Arts
Jennifer Bornstein
T.J. Dedeaux-Norris
Andrea Fraser
Liz Glynn
Heather Hart
Jefferson Pinder
Garden Live Acts
7:30 – 9:45
7:30 pm
Oswald Huỳnh (Musical Composition)
Musical Performance
Performed by Trio Sheliak:
Emanuele Brilli, violin
Matilde Michelozzi, cello
Sergio Costa, piano
7:50 pm
David Keplinger (Literature)
Reading
8:00 pm
Chuna McIntyre (Environmental Arts and Humanities)
Performance
8:15 pm
Maya Binyam (Literature)
Reading
8:25 pm
Lembit Beecher (Musical Composition)
Musical Performance
Performed by:
Lembit Beecher, piano and electronics
Enzo Filippetti, alto sax
Susanna Pagano, piano
Karen Ouzounian, cello
8:50 pm
Marta De Pascalis (Musical Composition)
Musical Performance
Food and drinks will be available for purchase from the vendors below between 6:30 and 9:30 pm.
Drinks are served from 6:00 – 9:45 pm
Thursday, May 28, 2026
6:00 PM–10:00 PM
For access to the Academy, guests will be asked to show a valid photo ID. Backpacks and luggage with dimensions larger than 40 x 35 x 15 cm (16 x 14 x 6 in.) are not permitted on the property. There are no locker facilities available. You may not bring animals (with the exception of seeing-eye/guide dogs).
The Academy is accessible to wheelchair users and others who need to avoid stairs. Please email us at events@aarome.org if you or someone in your party uses a wheelchair or other mobility devices so that we can ensure the best possible visitor experience. If you are someone with a disability or medical condition that may require special accommodation, please also email us at events@aarome.org.
Open Studios 2026 is made possible by the Adele Chatfield-Taylor Fund for the Arts. Additional funding is provided by the Fromm Music Foundation and by the Aaron Copland Fund for Music.