Daily Front Row

2010 May 14

A Medal For Miuccia

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Miuccia Prada
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(NEW YORK) Miuccia Prada’s roots may be in Milan, but the designer will voyage to another Italian city in a few weeks to pick up a prestigious prize: the McKim Medal. The award, established by the Trustees of the American Academy in Rome in 2005, has gone to Renzo Piano, Cy Twombly, Umberto Eco, Franco Zeffirelli, and Ennio Morricone in the past, and this year Prada will join the lineup as the honoree for her achievements in fashion and business and for her Fondazione Prada. On May 26, she will be presented her medal at the at the annual McKim Medal Gala at the Villa Aurelia of the American Academy in Rome, which will benefit fellowships for Italian and American winners, allow Italian artists to join the Academy, and support an exchange program for scholars in the humanities that links the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa with the American Academy in Rome.

“Miuccia Prada has achieved worldwide recognition for her inimitable vision, constant innovation, and exceptional contributions to fashion and the arts,” said Academy director Carmela Vircillo Franklin. “Together with her husband, Patrizio Bertelli, she created the Fondazione Prada, which has gained respect as a top international not-for-profit for contemporary art. We are honored to have her as the sixth McKim Medal laureate, joining our efforts to foster artistic and scholarly pursuits, and continuing the international dialogue that the American Academy in Rome and its supporters aim to cultivate and sustain.” Prada will be presented her medal by Robert Storr, dean of the School of Art at Yale University and Trustee of the American Academy in Rome.
EMILY GYBEN