PHILADELPHIA -- Terry Adkins, a University of Pennsylvania School of Design professor, has been awarded the Rome Prize in visual arts.

Adkins, an artist and musician, is among 25 awardees who will spend a year studying the arts or humanities at the American Academy in Rome.

Adkins’ project, “Flumen Orationis,” Latin for “River of Speech,” will highlight African influence in Rome. Three early popes came from North Africa.

“In my work, I try to pick historically transformative figures who are little known,” Adkins said. “In Rome, I want to bring to light their presence there and revisit their legacy. “

Adkins plans to use drawings, sculpture, performative gestures and video to tell their stories.

The American Academy in Rome was established in 1894 and chartered by an Act of Congress in 1905. The Rome Prize is awarded to artists and scholars through a national competition.

Additional information about the Rome Prize is available at http://www.aarome.org/.