Brandeis Theater Arts Professor Cameron Anderson receives prestigious Rome Prize
Photo Credit: (Courtesy photo)
April 22, 2026 • Arts
Cameron Anderson, the Barbara Sherman ’54 and Malcolm L. Sherman Associate Professor of Theater Arts, has been named a recipient of the Rome Prize, a national competition that supports innovative work in various disciplines across the arts and humanities.
Anderson, an internationally acclaimed set and projection designer who has designed extensively at the world's leading theater and opera companies, received the Billie Tsien prize for design, the American Academy in Rome announced on April 22.
"The Rome Prize is awarded through a highly competitive national process across disciplines, including architecture, landscape architecture, and graphic design, and is widely considered one of the most prestigious honors an American artist can receive,” Anderson said. “As a set designer working in the performing arts, it is particularly meaningful to be recognized within this broader design context, and I am honored to be included among this year’s fellows."
Anderson’s international work includes “West Side Story” for The Kilden Performing Arts Center in Norway and the Vancouver Opera, and Verdi’s “Simon Boccanegra” for the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires.
The Rome Prize provides artists and scholars with dedicated time, space, and a transdisciplinary community in which to advance their work within the city of Rome. The Italian Fellows Program brings Italian artists and scholars into this shared environment, where they develop their own projects alongside Rome Prize Fellows. The thirty-one fellows will reside and work at the academy’s 11-acre campus for periods ranging from five to 10 months, beginning in Sept. 2026.
Rome Prize winners are selected annually by independent juries composed of distinguished artists and scholars. This year’s competition drew 958 applicants from across the U.S. and citizens living abroad.
“Coming from a wide range of disciplines and practices, the 2026-27 cohort is united by their commitment to intellectual generosity and to cross-disciplinary engagement," said Peter N. Miller, President and CEO of the American Academy in Rome. “The Rome Prize is a bedrock of the Academy's mission to support the most compelling minds in the arts and humanities from across the United States. We look forward to welcoming this cohort and to the questions, ideas, and discoveries that will shape their time in the Eternal City.”
