Sally Mann in Rome

Distinguished Southern Photographer Sally Mann is scheduled to read from her recently published memoir Hold Still at the American Academy in Rome on Wednesday, October 7th, 2015 at 6:00 pm, Rome time. 

Mann's reading is in celebration of the opening of an exhibition of Cy Twombly's photographs (see image above) at the Academy, a show that remains on view until November 22nd, 2015. 

Born, as was Mann, in Lexington, VA, and best known as a painter, Twombly made photographs throughout his career. His Time in the South included studying at Washington and Lee University in Virginia and Black Mountain College in North Carolina.

Twombly received a grant from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in the early 1950's which enabled him to travel to North Africa, Spain, Italy, and France. Twombly later taught at the Southern Seminary and Junior College in Buena Vista, Virginia, now known as Southern Virginia University.

In this reading, Mann will explore her own relationship with Twombly and their shared romance with the American South, specifically their love for the landscapes of their hometown Lexington, Virginia. 

Mann's reading will be followed by a conversation with curator Peter Benson Miller, Andrew Heiskell Arts Director at the American Academy in Rome.

For more on the exhibition of Cy Twombly's photographs at the American Academy in Rome, go here.

If you are in Rome on October 7th, this is a not-to-be-missed event.  Please let me know how it goes so I can post a full report to this blog.