Foreign Artists in Rome. The international Discourse of the Prix de Rome, in the past and present

Foreign Artists in Rome.
The international Discourse of the Prix de Rome, in the past and present
December 16th, 10.30 – 17.00, Rome
Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome
Via Omero 10-12
The value of foreign artists in residence in Rome in the past and present. Challenges for
contemporary art in Rome. The role of foreign institutes in the Eternal City. These are some of the
themes that will be at the heart of the conference that will take place of the 16th of December at the
Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome, at via Omero 10-12. The conference is curated by artist and
researcher Krien Clevis and organised by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Royal
Netherlands Institute in Rome and the Mondriaan Fund in Amsterdam and is under support of
Roma Capitale.
Speakers of the conference are international experts of the Ministry of Foreign affairs of the
Netherlands, Roma Capitale Académie de France à Rome – Villa Medici , Deutsche Akademie Rom
– Villa Massimo, British School at Rome, American Academy of Rome, Royal Netherlands Institute
in Rome, Mondriaan Fund, de Appel Arts Centre in Amsterdam and others.
Many foreign institutes offer studios to artists in Rome. This phenomenon started thanks to a state
prize in Europe and the United States: the Prix de Rome. Founded in France during the reign of Louis
XIV, the prize has a long and rich history. From its origin to present days, many aspects have changed
(such as criteria, results, the contemporary art scene both national and international, et cetera).
Nevertheless, the prize is still very prestigious and artists remain eager to work and to study in Rome.
Why did artists from abroad come to Rome and why do they still do so today? What is the force of
the Eternal City in the past and the present? And what is the state of play for artists in residence in
Rome nowadays? What do the residential institutes have in common? And finally, what could we
learn from each other, is there something to exchange?
Last year the Netherlands reinstated the tradition of the Prix de Rome. Now every year the winning
visual artist or architect is given the possibility to study and work in Rome for a period of three
months. Like other countries, the Netherlands continue a long tradition of maintaining a presence of
Dutch artists and architects in the city of Rome. For instance this year, the Netherlands celebrate ten
years Dutch Project Studio in Rome.
This symposium aims to highlight the role of the Netherlands in relation to their European and
American peers from a historical point of view, as well as in relation to the contemporary art scene.
Furthermore it will place the Prix de Rome in an international context of artists in residence and the