One of the greatest not to say most overstimulating AAR traditions is that of Open Studios for Fellows in the School of Fine Arts. This year a large and lively crowd spent 3+ hours on the evening of Tuesday 3 June 2008 trying to navigate its way through 13 studios on three levels of the McKim, Mead, & White Building.

The catalog for this spring show, and that of past years, can be viewed here.

For visitors, the key to success: arrive early, start at the top, and work your way down. And avoid the allure of the roof terrace.

This year's participants, from top to bottom:

Prince Charitable Trusts Rome Prize Alan Berger (Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University)

Italian Fellow in the Arts Gianmaria Sforza Fogliani (Landscape Architect, Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria)

Garden Club of America Rome Prize Lisa Tziona Switkin (Senior Associate, Field Operations, NYC)

National Endowment for the Arts Rome Prize John Ochsendorf (Associate Professor, Department of Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Hear Ochsendorf in his Open Studio describe his project on the preservation of masonry vaulting in Rome (audiofile, 1 min.): ochsendorfvault1

Joseph H. Hazen Rome Prize in Visual Arts Tim Davis (Photographer, NYC and Tivoli, NY)

Jesse Howard, Jr. Rome Prize in Visual Arts Caveh Zahedi (Filmmaker, San Francisco)

Booth Family Rome Prize in Historic Preservation and Conservation Jana Dambrogio (Conservator, Document Conservation Laboratory, National Archives and Records Administration)

Rolland Rome Prize in Design John Cary (Executive Director, Public Architecture)

Franklin D. Israel Rome Prize in Architecture Frederick Fisher (Frederick Fisher and Partners Architects)

Chuck Close Rome Prize in Visual Arts Daniel Bozhkov (artist, New York)

Founders Rome Prize in Architecture Daniel Mihalyo/Annie Han (Lead Pencil Studio)

Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon Polsky Rome Prize in Design Molissa Fenley (Artistic Director, Molissa Fenley and Dancers). Hear Fenley at Open Studios discuss her Cosmati Variations - a dance composition with music by John Cage - suggested by experiencing the design of the 12th and 13th century Cosmati mosaics (audiofile, 2 minutes): fenleycosmati

John Armstrong Chaloner/Jacob H. Lazarus-Metropolitan Museum of Art Rome Prize in Visual Arts Kate Gilmore (Artist and Visiting Assistant Professor, Art and Design, State University of New York at Purchase)

The AAR Open Studios were made possible in part by a grant from the Cowles Charitable Trust.