FIRELEI BÁEZ
To see beyond it and to access the places that we know lie outside its walls, 2015
Gouache and ink on paper
84 1/2 x 50 in
214.6 x 127 cm
Congratulations to Firelei Báez for receiving the 2021 Phillip Guston Rome Prize. These highly competitive fellowships support advanced independent work and research in the arts and humanities.
“We welcome these Rome Prize winners and Italian Fellows who enter an increasingly global and diverse residential community, reflecting the complexity of US culture abroad,” said AAR President Mark Robbins (1997 Fellow). “The support for these scholars, artists, writers, composers, and designers strengthens the arts and humanities at a time when this is ever more critical.”
Rome Prize winners are selected annually by independent juries of distinguished artists and scholars through a national competition. The eleven disciplines supported by the Academy include: ancient studies, architecture, design, historic preservation and conservation, landscape architecture, literature, medieval studies, modern Italian studies, music composition, Renaissance and early modern studies, and visual arts. Nationwide, the Rome Prize Competition received 874 applications, representing 46 US states and 22 different countries. This group of Rome Prize winners is one of the most diverse in the Academy’s history. Approximately 44 percent of the winners identify as BIPOC, and 62.5 percent are women, representing a new high for each demographic, respectively. Ages of the incoming group range from 27 to 74, with an average age of 43.
Báez will receive a stipend, workspace, and room and board at the Academy’s historic 11-acre campus on the Gianicolo in Rome, starting in September 2021.