The American Academy in Rome’s Annual Tribute Dinner took place at The Plaza Hotel in New York City on Wednesday, 17 April 2013. Nearly 500 guests gathered to honor Adele Chatfield-Taylor, FAAR’84, for her remarkable 25-year tenure as the Academy’s CEO and President, and to award to Elizabeth Diller, AFAAR’81, Ricardo Scofidio, and Charles Renfro of Diller Scofidio + Renfro the Centennial Medal for their exceptional contributions to the worlds of architecture and the visual arts.
Trustee and Vice Chairman Mercedes T. Bass chaired the evening, with the incomparable John Guare, RAAR’13 acting as Master of Ceremonies. Academy Fellows, Residents and Trustees figured prominently at the celebration including David Childs, RAAR’04, Chuck Close, RAAR’96, ’11, Nancy Novogrod, Thom Mayne, Michael Graves, FAAR’62, RAAR’79, Corey Brennan, FAAR’88, as well as other Academy supporters Robert Aldridge, Serena Boardman, Alan Brinkley, Nancy Kissinger, Morley Safer, Joel Klein, Maira Kalman, Paul Le Clerc, Marlene Hess, Francine du Plessix Gray, and Robert Silvers.
Chair of the Board of Trustees Mary Margaret Jones, FAAR’98, got the evening off to an ebullient start with by welcoming guests and introducing the honorees and Dinner Chairman.
Presenting Elizabeth Diller, Ricardo Scofidio, and Charles Renfro with their award, Robert K. Steel, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, expressed his gratitude and esteem for the unprecedented ways in which Diller Scofidio + Renfro have added value to our beloved city through their interdisciplinary approach to architecture and design.
The evening took a personal turn when Academy Director Christopher S. Celenza, FAAR’94, conferred on Adele Chatfield-Taylor the Medal of Excellence. The respect and admiration for the Academy’s longest serving president was felt by all as Celenza told of Adele’s dedication and contributions to her beloved institution. Celenza stated, “Adele has worked tirelessly, over twenty-five years, to ensure that this community can come into existence year after year. Her work to endow our different fellowships; to endow Residencies, so that senior figures can come to the Academy; to support the Academy’s Arthur C. and Janet Ross Library; to see that our community has sustainable and nourishing meals around which those conversations can begin; to care for the Academy’s archival collections; to make sure that the Academy’s community is truly different each year by working hard on the rotating juries that select our fellows: all of this, and much more, has been part of Adele’s comprehensive and razor-sharp vision.”
But perhaps the most poignant part of the evening came when Adele, warmly greeted by guests with a standing ovation, recalled her trajectory as an historic preservationist and elicited fond memories of her time with the thousands of Academy Fellows, Residents and staff who she has come to call friends.
It was a night to honor and reflect; a celebration of the Academy as an institution that for over 119 years has nurtured artists and scholars, providing a meeting point for the intersection and cross-fertilization of ideas and creativity. As it enters a new phase in its continual growth, the importance of the Academy’s mission and the everlasting impact on its members was particularly salient that evening.
Closing out the event, Mary Margaret Jones thanked all of the Academy’s contributors and supporters. The tribute dinner raised over $2.5 million, the highest total ever, with proceeds benefiting the Academy’s ongoing operations in support of fostering the arts and humanities. Next month, the Academy will honor film director Bernardo Bertolucci for his contributions to cinema at its McKim Medal Gala in Rome on 27 May. The McKim Medal Gala kicks off a week of special activities at the American Academy in Rome that includes the Fellows Open Studios, Readings and Concerts.
Diller Scofidio + Renfro Honored at AAR’s Annual Tribute Dinner from American Academy in Rome on Vimeo.
Adele Chatfield-Taylor Honored at AAR’s Annual Tribute Dinner from American Academy in Rome on Vimeo.