UC Irvine Faculty Jennifer Bornstein and Liz Glynn Awarded 2025–26 Rome Prize in Visual Arts

Fellowships provide immersive interdisciplinary experience at the American Academy in Rome

The American Academy in Rome has announced the winners of the 2025–26 Rome Prize, one of the world’s most prestigious fellowship programs supporting innovative artists and scholars in the arts, humanities and sciences. Among the 35 recipients are UC Irvine’s Jennifer Bornstein and Liz Glynn, both from the Department of Art at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts.

Bornstein was awarded the Harold M. English Rome Prize, while Glynn received the Joseph H. Hazen Rome Prize, both in visual arts. Their selection reflects the exceptional caliber of research and creative practice fostered at UC Irvine and highlights the school’s impact on the international stage.

The Rome Prize equips fellows with the time, space, setting and interdisciplinary community necessary to delve deeply into their work during a residency of five to 10 months on the academy’s 11-acre campus in Rome, starting this September. Winners are selected through a rigorous national competition, with this year’s acceptance rate standing at 3.54 percent from nearly 1,000 applications across 44 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and 17 countries.

Glynn will use her fellowship to further her project, The Spoils: A Countermonument, which explores the concept of "spolia"—architectural elements repurposed from ancient structures—and the aesthetics of imperialism amid contemporary shifts away from democratic ideals. Her work will combine traditional materials such as plaster, stone, bronze and clay with innovative techniques to mirror acts of seizure, destruction and recontextualization.

“I’m looking forward to working in Rome and immersing myself in site-specific research and the production of a new body of work,” Glynn said. “Opportunities like this are invaluable for the rich experience of first-person engagement and the discourse across a vibrant interdisciplinary community at the academy. I look forward to bringing this knowledge back to UCI to share with my students.”

Bornstein, internationally recognized for her interdisciplinary visual practice, will also deeply engage in research and production during her fellowship term. Her work often merges photography, film and printmaking with anthropological and historical inquiry, and her time at the academy will provide a dynamic platform to expand her practice in dialogue with the history and material culture of Rome.

"I'm thrilled – but not at all surprised – to see Jennifer and Liz receive the Rome Prize,” said Kevin Appel, chair of the Department of Art at UC Irvine. “Their work consistently pushes boundaries and engages deeply with contemporary discourse. It's a proud moment for our department to see their talents recognized on such a prestigious international platform."

The American Academy in Rome provides fellows and invited residents with an environment that challenges disciplinary boundaries and cultivates new ideas. Throughout the fellowship year, Bornstein and Glynn will engage with an international cohort of artists and scholars working across architecture, design, film, literature, music, photography and the humanities.

Since its founding in 1894, the academy has nurtured generations of scholars and artists whose work has made a profound impact on intellectual and cultural life globally. Alumni have gone on to receive Pulitzer Prizes, Guggenheim Fellowships, MacArthur Fellowships and Nobel Prizes, among other honors.

For more information about the American Academy in Rome and the 2025–26 Rome Prize winners, visit www.aarome.org.