Visual artist Sally Smart has been awarded the Mordant Family and Creative Australia Affiliated Fellowship at the American Academy in Rome. Smart is known for her large-scale cut-out compositions, installations, and performances exploring identity politics, the body, and cultural histories. Her work has been exhibited globally and is held in many major public and private collections across Australia and internationally.
“The community of the American Academy in Rome has been impacted deeply by the presence of artists and scholars of diverse experiences, approaches, processes, and expertise,” said AAR Director Aliza S. Wong. “We have been so fortunate to host incredible artists from Australia thanks to the vision and generosity of the Mordant Family and Creative Australia. The engagement of the artists and scholars from the United States, Italy, Australia, and other parts of the world with one another and with the city of Rome—its mythological past, its very real present, and its possible futures—allows for the enrichment and enlargement of their creative and research practices.”
Since 2016, the program has offered Australian artists the opportunity to pursue their creative practice in an inspiring, collaborative, and supportive environment, with accommodation and studio space in the American Academy’s historic building on the Janiculum Hill in Rome. This once-in-a-lifetime professional development opportunity is generously supported by the Mordant Family.
Smart said, “I would like to sincerely thank the Mordant Family, Creative Australia, and the American Academy in Rome for this significant opportunity. The fellowship will focus on research into early modernist avant-garde art in Italy, including artists and designers (Giacomo Balla, Fortunato Depero, and Elsa Schiaparelli) at the intersection of art and performance practice; their use of costume and textiles; along with the related historical legacies of ancient Roman theater, the commedia dell’arte, and Italian puppetry traditions. I look forward to being able to live, research, and make art in an environment with other artists, writers, and scholars from around the world, while living in a city with Rome’s extraordinary history, architecture, and the powerful creative energy that resonates.”
“We were overjoyed to see the extraordinary quality of applicants for this residency and are delighted to support Sally Smart as the next Australian Affiliated Fellow at the American Academy in Rome,” remarked AAR Trustee Simon Mordant AO. “Sally’s work is innovative, thought provoking, and deeply connected to cultural dialogue, making her an exceptional recipient of this fellowship. Our family believes in the transformative power of art, and we look forward to seeing how this experience continues to inspire her work.”
The Mordant Family and Creative Australia Affiliated Fellowship is open to established visual artists with a significant record of exhibiting in public institutions and galleries. Recent past recipients include Khaled Sabsabi, Angela Valamanesh, and Reko Rennie.