The American Academy in Rome and Society of Fellows are pleased to announce the winners of its new Venice Residency program, organized in partnership with the Emily Harvey Foundation (EHF). The residency provides Fellows of the AAR (FAAR) the chance to extend their research and creative work in Venice, making use of all the resources the city has to offer. The winners were selected from among 72 submissions from fellows spanning over 50 years of the Rome Prize program, representing all of the Academy’s disciplines.
Hsinming Fung (Architecture, FAAR 1991) is the principal of H+F Design Lab and Distinguished Professor of Architecture at Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc). Fung led the award-winning firm Hodgetts + Fung for more than 30 years and with her partner, Craig Hodgetts, producing notable works such as the Hollywood Bowl and the renovation of Los Angeles’ landmark Egyptian Theater. Fung’s project, Reading Venice, proposes to compare and contrast its urban infrastructure with that of contemporary Los Angeles, noting Venice as the ultimate pedestrian city with a “passive urban armature” that may offer inspiration for addressing “the ills that plague the modern urban framework.” She aims to study “the similarities in everyday human transactions and cultural exploration, while emphasizing the vast aesthetic and environmental differences, opportunities for growth and change, and quality of life.” Fung expressed gratitude for the opportunity: “The timing coincides with my research on sensory pedestrian experience and its impact on the urban environment, a long standing fascination which began with my fellowship in Rome.”
Mike Chin (Ancient Studies, FAAR 2004, AFAAR 2014) is a Professor of Classics at the University of California at Davis, specializing in religions of late antiquity. He uses traditional academic research methods alongside a multidisciplinary arts practice, including puppetry, photography, and installation work. In Venice, he proposes to make drawings and photographs of the porphyry statues of third-century Roman emperors embedded in the exterior of San Marco, for his new project, Diocletian: A Reckless Autobiography, a mixed-media book on the life of the Roman emperor Diocletian who reigned from 284–305 CE. Inspired by his time in Rome, Chin has begun to integrate artistic practice into his research on the ancient religious imagination. He began working in puppetry and theater-making in 2016 and has since worked as a director, fabricator, and performer on various theater and film projects.
“I’m tremendously grateful and excited to be part of the inaugural duo for this new residency,” said Mike Chin. “I feel like AAR and SOF are offering us yet another great opportunity to push our work forward with time to think, reflect, and experiment for a few weeks in a fantastic environment. The Academy has been a springboard for so many amazing projects for so many people, it's energizing just to imagine what new work might find inspiration in Venice.”
The winners will spend their two-week summer residencies in the EHF’s apartments near the Piazzo San Marco, which has hosted over 500 multidisciplinary artists from all over the world since 2004. “We are grateful to have the chance to pilot this new residency opportunity with the Emily Harvey Foundation, particularly at a time when we are extending our programs to include Venice as an important center of contemporary environmental arts and humanities,” said AAR President Peter N. Miller.
SOF President Phu Hoang adds, “We appreciate this new collaborative venture with the American Academy in Rome and the Emily Harvey Foundation, as it helps us further our mission, to support and celebrate Fellows’ work after Rome.”
The AAR-SOF Summer Venice Residency will be offered annually. Its mission is to provide Rome Prize winners time and space in Venice to kickstart projects or to bring ongoing works into focus. The next application cycle will be announced in fall 2025.