It’s been an active and rewarding year at the Academy.
2023 was bookended with two editions of Open Studios, featuring inspiring work by our Fellows in the arts. In the humanities, AAR hosted conferences that decentered the Mediterranean, shed new light on citizenship and identity in Italy and the United States, and explored the future of Rome’s landscape and urban fabric. In the spring, we opened June Jordan, The Poetry of Design, an exhibition on the poet and activist who was AAR’s first Black female Fellow. The role of national academies in Rome, including that of the American Academy, was also the subject of an exhibition this summer at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni. This autumn, a special musical concert at Villa Aurelia celebrated the pines of Rome, a leitmotif of this fall’s public programming.
We welcomed new leadership
The historian and educator Peter N. Miller was appointed our new President in the summer. Ilaria Puri Purini was named our Andrew Heiskell Arts Director.
The Classical Summer School celebrated one hundred years
We celebrated the centennial of this impactful program for classics teachers at a special event in June that brought together CSS alumni and past directors.
AAR’s community of Fellows, Residents, and Affiliated Fellows had a remarkable output of work
Of course, AAR’s impact continues after Fellows leave the Janiculum Hill, and 2023 saw hundreds of noteworthy achievements by AAR’s community, including:
- 48 new books authored, edited, or translated by Fellows and Residents, including academic books in the humanities, exhibitions, novels, story collections, and books of verse
- The world premiere of 22 new pieces of music composed by Fellows and Residents
- 81 solo exhibitions by Fellows and Residents, and 9 new permanent public art installations
- The completion of over 15 significant new buildings, parks, or other projects designed by Fellows and Residents with their firms
In Memoriam
We also note with deep sorrow our friends and Fellows whom we lost in 2023, including Harry C. Avery (Trustee Emeritus), Ingrid Barrett, Adam T. Foley (2016 Fellow), Carin Goldberg (2015 Fellow), Jim Hennessey (1964 Fellow), Susan Kleinberg (Visiting Artist), Marjorie E. Kreilick (1963 Fellow), Janet Martin (1972 Fellow), Robert Mangurian (1977 Fellow), Jack Massey (1961 Fellow, 1979 Resident), Jim Melchert (AAR Director, 1984–88), Joseph Solodow (1981 Fellow), David Del Tredici (1985 Resident), and Joanna Woods-Marsden (1987 Fellow).
As we look ahead to 2024, to what will be the Academy’s 130th anniversary year, we thank you for your continued engagement and support.