Join us on Thursday, May 22nd at the Civitella Castle for presentations by Séverine Ballon, James Hall, and Vian Sora. We will welcome you with light refreshments at 6:00 PM.
Séverine Ballon
Music, France
Séverine Ballon is a composer and cellist. These two activities nourish each other in her musical research. Resident at Villa Médicis in 2023-2024, Séverine favors collaborations with other artists, as well as creations that connect her social commitment to her artistic work. She has released two solo albums, Solitude (2015) and Inconnaissance (2018). Her latest creations have been performed at the Ultraschall Berlin, Donaueschinger Musiktage and Transit festivals, and at Radio France.
James Allen Hall
Writing, USA
James Allen Hall is the author of two books of poetry and a book of lyric personal essays: Now You’re the Enemy (University of Arkansas, 2008); I Liked You Better Before I Knew You So Well (CSU Poetry Center, 2017); and Romantic Comedy (Four Way, 2023). He has twice been an NEA Fellow in Poetry (2011 and 2025), and he has received awards from Lambda Literary, the Fellowship of Southern Writers, and the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, among others. With Aaron Smith, James co-hosts Breaking Form: A Podcast of Poetry & Culture. Find him online at www.jamesallenhall.com
Vian Sora
Visual Arts, Iraq/USA
Vian Sora is an Iraq-born painter who was raised in Baghdad. She received a BS from Al Mansour University in 2000 and studied printmaking at the Istanbul Museum of Graphic Art (IMOGA) in Istanbul, Turkey. Sora’s paintings have been presented in solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally including the Baltimore Museum of Art (Baltimore, MD), Santa Barbara Museum of Art (Santa Barbara, CA), and the Speed Art Museum (Louisville, KY). She will have her first traveling museum survey show at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Speed Art Museum, and the Asia Society Texas starting in 2025.
Thursday, May 22nd 2025
6:00 PM Welcome cocktail
6:15 PM Presentations
Please RSVP here