Vol. 40, No.1 Summer 2011
In this Issue
Artists Campaign for the Second Century 2011 Edward MacDowell Medalist Save the Dates Fellowships
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architects | composers | filmmakers | interdisciplinary artists | theatre | visual artists | writers
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LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR
Securing the Future When was the last time you jumped for joy? I had the
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The MacDowell Colony
Artists
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occasion to do so when the Kresge Foundation let us know they were giving MacDowell a $1 million grant toward the cost of our new library and to seed a building reserve fund. I jump for joy each time we receive a gift to MacDowell’s $13 million Campaign for the Second Century, which now stands at the remarkable $12.2 million mark. As Robert MacNeil noted when we announced the Campaign publicly last summer, our dream is to secure the Colony’s future by building the endowment and investing in our buildings. Endowment is our “storm anchor” that provides long-term stability. The new building reserve fund made possible by Kresge will support a systematic stewardship plan for the Colony’s 32 studios and buildings. At the rate of one a year, each will be thoroughly renovated every 40 years. Thanks to a campaign in the 1990s and the work of Resident Director David Macy, Senior Program Assistant Kyle Oliver, Maintenance Foreman John Sieswerda, and the maintenance team, we are starting this initiative with the buildings in excellent condition. Everyone at MacDowell is excited about the prospect of the new library building — a wonderful space where artists-in-residence will have ready access to the creative work of our 11,000 MacDowell Fellows and better work space for Internet research. With support from friends like you, we will break ground next spring. Please join me in making a gift large or small to MacDowell’s Campaign to support either our endowment or the new library. Together, we can extend the usefulness of the Colony for the next generation of artists.
Landscapes of the West MacDowell artists Blane De St. Croix (pictured above) and Rachel Sussman (shown below) were among the 10 artists chosen to have their work added to the West Collection as 2011 West Prize finalists — a prestigious honor that includes $10,000 in acquisition funds for the purchase of their work. Since 2009, 29 innovative artists have been selected from an applicant pool of 7,300 hopefuls to have their work acquired for this familyowned art collection held at SEI Investments’s corporate headquarters in Oaks, Pennsylvania.
Cheryl A. Young Executive Director
Jazz bassist Rufus Reid’s new CD, Hues of a Different Blue, was released in April by Motéma Music. Also coming to fruition recently was his Caress the Thought, a symphonic work for solo double bass and orchestra completed during his recent residency at MacDowell. Caress the Thought was premiered by The Youth Symphony of Dupage, Illinois, in March. Reid also completed two of the three movements for his symphony orchestra work Mass Transit — which debuted in May with two performances (one in Idyllwild, California, and one at The Redcat Theater in Los Angeles) — at MacDowell.
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More New & Notable Projects Shimon Attie MetroPAL.IS, video installation Lorna Bieber Images: Lost and Found, photography exhibition Adam Gwon Ordinary Days, cast recording/CD
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Serpentine Fence (purple chain link, stainless steel; 8’ H x 15’ 6” W x 126’ L), a permanent sculpture located in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, created by artist Beth Galston serves the dual purposes of beautifying an urban area and separating tennis courts from a sitting area in a Boston neighborhood park. “The sculpture alters continually throughout the day as the sun shifts and with special lighting at night,” says Galston, an environmental sculptor who produces works using light and shadow, translucency, and natural materials. “My pieces create a sense of place, a moment of magic or transformation.” Galston’s diverse body of work includes sculptural installations and objects, large-scale public sculptures, and collaborative multimedia performances.
Awarded a $25,000 “25 for 25” AOL grant for artists and visionaries in October, photographer Rachel Sussman has been traveling the world for the past five years to research her ongoing project, “The Oldest Living Things in the World.” Working with biologists to locate and capture in compelling images continuously living organisms that are at least 2,000 years old, Sussman is aiming to provide a lens through which we can view our ever-changing and ever-evolving planet. Her work was recently included in “On the Metaphor of Growth,” an international exhibition at Kunst Verien Hannover in Germany scheduled to run through June 26th.
Daniel Heyman When Photographers Are Blinded, Eagles’ Wings Are Clipped, 2010, ed 1/1, etchings on plywood, 104” x 95”. Exhibited this spring at Loyola Marymount University’s Laband Art Gallery in Los Angeles, CA. Phoebe Hoban Alice Neel: The Art of Not Sitting Pretty, biography Larry Polansky The World’s Longest Melody, CD Joanna Solfrian Visible Heavens, poetry Kimi Takesue Where Are You Taking Me?, documentary film Dianne Torr Sex, Drag, and Male Roles: Investigating Gender as Performance, nonfiction
Rachel Sussman
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clements/howcroft
Described as “musical theatre for naughty children,” Errollyn Wallen’s new opera Cautionary Tales had its world premiere at Opera North in Leeds, United Kingdom, in March. Aimed at six- to nine-year-olds and featuring music that matches the story’s “exuberant, lively mischief,” this enchanting piece of theatre was devised to introduce young audiences to the pleasures of opera. On the horizon is the U.S. premiere of Wallen’s original version (two pianos, eight hands) of “The Girl in My Alphabet,” which will take place at the Tanglewood Music Festival in Lenox, Massachusetts, on August 5th.
Robin Hessman’s documentary about the last Soviet generation to grow up behind the Iron Curtain, My Perestroika, began its national theatrical release at the IFC Center in New York in March. Well received by audiences and critics alike, the award-winning film — which Hessman worked on during a residency at MacDowell in early 2008 — premiered on PBS’s P.O.V. in 2009 and will enjoy extended runs in numerous theaters across the country in May and June.
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Robert Workman
New & Notable
The work of visual artist De St. Croix — including the miniaturized representation of the United States/Mexico border he worked on at MacDowell in 2008 — explores geopolitical landscapes through drawings and sculptural installations. His work was recently shown at La MaMa in New York in “Tracing the Unseen Border,” an exhibition investigating the dynamics surrounding the emblematic line in the sand between the U.S. and Mexico. As a 2011 West Prize finalist, he will present a talk entitled “Border Sculptures and Other Works” for SEI employees and guests on June 24th at 1 p.m., which will be followed by a tour of the West Collection.
Top: Landscape Sections: Borders: United States and Mexico, 2008/2011, mixed media, 4’ x 2’ x 5’, by Blane De St. Croix. Above: La Llareta; #0308-23B26; up to 3,000 years old; Atcama Desert, Chile; by Rachel Sussman.
A Trio of Ideas
While in residence at MacDowell in 2010, they worked on Wunderkammer, an installation commissioned by the San Jose International Airport in California. Shown at the 2010 San Jose Biennial, Wunderkammer is a “cabinet of curiosities” consisting of components related to the history and technologies of the Silicon Valley. Installed at the airport in May of 2010, it will remain on display through June of 2012. Also worked on during their residency in Firth Studio is Panoptos, an installation shown earlier this year at the Henry Art Gallery in Seattle that invites viewers to interact with the museum collection in a unique way. Hanging above the exhibit’s 154 paintings, photographs, and sculptures is a high-definition camera — controlled in an adjacent room — that transmits and records images, providing viewers with “unusual opportunities for subjective and objective interactions with art.”
Above: WunderKammer, installation view. Right: The artists in Firth Studio.
Upcoming projects for SuttonBeresCuller include a temporary project at the new light rail station on Capitol Hill in Seattle; Mini Mart City Park, which involves the transformation of an abandoned convenience store into a public green space; and a “dramatic reconfiguration of staged slices of life” at On the Boards in Seattle in September.
3 The MacDowell Colony
SuttonBeresCuller
Working collaboratively as a team since 2000, interdisciplinary artists John Sutton, Ben Beres, and Zac Culler develop sculpture, public art projects, performances, and site-specific installations that draw in unsuspecting audiences in diverse locations. Guided largely by the environment in which each project originates, the trio provokes thought and incites engagement through expertly planned and executed presentations.
Artist Awards, Grants, and Fellowships In early April, the Guggenheim Foundation announced the recipients its 2011 grants for mid-career artists, scientists, and scholars. Intended to provide creative freedom for men and women who have “demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts,” the monetary grants are given with no special conditions attached. A total of 180 individuals were selected from a pool of almost 3,000 applicants to receive a 2011 grant, including the following 16 MacDowell Fellows: music researcher Jonathan Pieslak; writers John D’Agata, Jonathan Dee, Katherine Rich, Lara Vapnyar (pictured right), Patricia Volk, and Cynthia Zarin; visual artists Charles Goldman and Endi Poskovic; playwrights David Adjmi and Young Jean Lee; video artist Marina Zurkow; and composers Philippe Bodin, Chaya Czernowin, Louis Karchin, and Marilyn Shrude.
Composer John Aylward was one of five MacDowell composers to receive a 2011 music award from The American Academy of Arts and Letters in February. Aylward received a Goddard Lieberson fellowship of $15,000, while Karim Al-Zand, David Dzubay, Steven Mackey, and Lewis Spratlan each received a $7,500 Arts and Letters Award in Music, along with an additional $7,500 toward the recording of one work. Dan Visconti was awarded a $15,000 Charles Ives fellowship.
Documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras (pictured left in Baetz Studio) and playwright Doug Wright (shown below) are two of 52 artists working in design, literature, media, performing arts, and visual arts from across the country who were awarded a $50,000 unrestricted grant from United States Artists in December. Chosen for the quality and substance of their work, USA Fellows represent “some of the most innovative and diverse creative talents in the country,” according to United States Artists, a grant-making and advocacy organization. In addition to Poitras and Wright, MacDowell Fellow playwright Brighde Mullins, filmmaker Natalia Almada, painter Glenn Ligon, and sculptor Anna Von Mertens were also announced as USA Fellows at a special celebration at Lincoln Center in New York on December 7th. Poitras’s O’ Say Can You See, the mulitchannel video installation she worked on at MacDowell last year, premiered at the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center in October. During his residency at MacDowell earlier this year, Wright redrafted the book of his Texas-based musical Hands on a Hard Body in preparation for an upcoming production at California’s La Jolla Playhouse. “The real triumph of the Colony is the quiet but pervasive aura of industry that characterizes it,” says Wright. “All around you, artists are feverishly working on cherished projects; it’s impossible not to feel inspired. I am always more productive on these grounds than anywhere else.”
Martin Boykan, composer Member, American Academy of Arts and Letters
Richard Foerster, poet NEA Fellowship, Poetry Elliot Green, painter Rome Prize
The Road to Nasiriyah, a documentary film about the looting of archeological sites in Iraq by Marie-Hélène Carleton and Micah Garen (pictured above in front of the Ziggurat of Ur, Nasiriyah, Iraq, in July of 2004) was one of nine projects selected for inclusion in the inaugural Film Independent Documentary Lab held in Los Angeles in March and April. An intensive seven-week program aimed at assisting filmmakers with their works-inprogress, the lab is designed to provide a challenging, creative environment in which filmmakers can develop their “strong, original voices.” Alex Gibney, the Oscarwinning director of Taxi to the Dark Side, has come on board as the film’s executive producer. Carleton and Garen worked on The Road to Nasiriyah during their 2007 residency at MacDowell.
Quotable “The
most important aspect of my residency was the opportunity to reach a more intensive plane of concentration. It’s that compelling ratio: 1 day of work at MacDowell = 4 in New York City (or anywhere else). I can’t seem to finish a book without a residency at MacDowell!”
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More Awards, Grants, and Fellowships
Angela Co, architect Rome Prize
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When writer Jonathan Dee spent time at MacDowell in 2004 and 2007, he worked on his book The Privileges (Random House, 2010), which was nominated for a 2011 Pulitzer Prize in April. Dee was one of four MacDowell Fellows named as Pulitzer finalists this year. Poet Jean Valentine was nominated for her new collection of poems, Break the Glass (Copper Canyon Press, 2010), which she worked on at MacDowell in 2009. Playwright Lisa D’Amour was nominated for her play Detroit, while composer Fred Lerdahl earned a spot as a finalist with his concerto Arches. In total, 67 MacDowell artists have earned Pulitzer Prizes since the awards were first given in 1917.
— Nonfiction writer Peter Godwin (pictured right in Chapman Studio), who worked on his new book, The Fear, during a 2010 residency at MacDowell. Released in March by Hachette Book Group, this memoir about the political turmoil in Godwin’s native Zimbabwe has been touted as “an important work of witness” by Booklist and described as “a gripping narrative” by The Washington Post.
Martha Horst, composer Aaron Copland Award Aaron Jay Kernis, composer Member, American Academy of Arts and Letters Siobhan Liddell, sculptor Rome Prize Eric Moe, composer Aaron Copland Award Suzanne Riveca, writer Rome Prize Huang Ruo, composer Aaron Copland Award Alvin Singleton, composer Aaron Copland Award
GOAL: $
$780,000 to go
13,000,0
$780,000
00
REMAIN
$12,220,000
remaining efforts will fund
ING
*RAISED
library construction and Fellowship endowmeNT *Gifts and pledges as of May 1, 2011
Site plan showing the library complex.
TOD Williams Billie Tsien Architects
MacDowell is always looking for ways to enhance the residency experience for artistsin-residence. In this spirit of perpetual renewal, we’re pleased to share news of our $13 million Campaign for the Second Century — the largest fund-raising endeavor in the Colony’s 104-year history. Together, the Campaign projects described below will ensure that MacDowell will continue to flourish as the nation’s leading creative incubator for new work.
Kresge Invests $1 Million in MacDowell
contributors, including a number of Colony Fellows, the Campaign for the Second Century has secured more
This spring, The Kresge Foundation awarded a
Stipends
$1 million grant to MacDowell’s Campaign for the Second Century. Matching the largest gifts ever received by the Colony and coming from a nationally esteemed institution, this grant recognizes MacDowell as a national treasure. An investment in MacDowell’s immediate and future capital needs, the grant was given through Kresge’s Facilities and Building Reserve Grant program. In presenting the grant to the foundation’s board of
Thanks to MacDowell’s board of directors, strong foundation support, and the generosity of other early than $12.2 million as of May 1, 2011, for the following initiatives:
Direct financial support opens the MacDowell residency experience to a wider and more diverse community. Stipends cover costs associated with travel, shipping work, and supplies, and help to make up for lost income related to time spent in residence. This assistance for artists with limited income defrays a large portion of these costs, giving artists-in-residence greater peace of mind to work experimentally and productively while at the Colony.
at the heart of the MacDowell experience. Other building projects include the preservation of the Colony’s historic sites, such as Edward MacDowell’s log cabin — the Colony’s prototype studio — and the MacDowells’ music room at Hillcrest.
Building Reserve Fund In addition to building exciting new facilities, MacDowell is tripling designated endowment funds that underwrite the maintenance of studios, common buildings, and infrastructure.
trustees, Kresge arts and culture program officers noted that MacDowell is a national and international leader in its field that “contributes to the liveliness of the arts and the cultural ecosystem.” Half of this funding will go toward library construction and the other half will seed a board-designated capital reserves fund to offset the cost of long-term care and maintenance of the Colony’s facilities.
Capital Improvements
Capacity Building
The $1.5 million renovation of Colony Hall restored MacDowell’s social center to a welcoming and versatile building, where Fellows share ideas during meals and moments of relaxation. Renovations to the kitchen, Bond Hall, and offices added more common space for artists to engage in the dynamic community
Investing in MacDowell’s operations from 2005 to 2012 has advanced the organization’s understanding of its role within the national arts infrastructure and established a sustainable major gifts and planned giving program that will continue to support the program long after the Campaign’s conclusion.
Completing the Campaign To raise the last $780,000 of our $13 million goal, we will need the help of the Colony’s entire network of friends, artists, and patrons. Our deadline is March 31, 2012.
Fellowships Last year, 287 artists were in residence at MacDowell. Named Fellowships provided funding to underwrite the cost of just 68 of these artists. With each addition to the endowment, the Colony comes one step closer to assured sustainability.
Library TOD Williams Billie Tsien Architects
The MacDowell Colony
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A new library building (a rendering of which is pictured at left) will be paired with the iconic Savidge Library to provide a unified library complex with ready access to the work of all MacDowell artists regardless of discipline. Once renovated, the existing building will reclaim its place as the ideal space for artists’ presentations, and will also offer reading chairs to complement the book-lined walls. The adjacent new building will greatly expand the library’s capacity and ease of access to digital media and the Internet while also adding nooks where small groups can exchange ideas, watch films, or listen to music without distracting others.
Please give to MacDowell’s future by donating to the Campaign today.
A L ibrar y f o r A ll t h e A r t s The Poets Garden
The Architect’s View:
Tod Williams Discusses the Design for MacDowell’s New Library As we’ve covered in the last few issues of MacDowell’s newsletter, the Colony is in the process of creating a new library for resident artists. Taking the library from physical to digital and expanding beyond music, film, and literature to include all the arts, the new building — alongside the existing Savidge Library — will include numerous features essential for housing and providing access to the array of traditional and digital media that comprise the contemporary work of MacDowell artists. The internationally renowned architecture firm Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects (TWBTA) is bringing this concept to life. Perhaps best known for their award-winning design for the American Folk Art Museum in New York City, TWBTA is widely acclaimed and has been repeatedly honored by the American Institute of Architects. Tod and Billie, along with TWBTA project architect Brent Buck, have spent the past year developing and refining plans for MacDowell’s new library center. Recently, Tod Williams took some time to discuss the design.
The MacDowell Colony
Architects Tod Williams (left) and Billie Tsien.
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Savidge Library in spring.
“Tempted by room and fresh air…” — Poet Galway Kinnell from “Flower Herding on Mount Monadnock” The Poets Garden at MacDowell’s new library will welcome every
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What initially attracted you to pursue the design commission? It seems like we have known about MacDowell forever — me from a former client, artist, and friend, Judith Rothschild. Billie learned of MacDowell from her childhood piano teacher, Mrs. Kent, a friend and admirer of [Edward] MacDowell, who kept a photograph of him mounted prominently by her piano and had Billie play “To a Wild Rose.” Today, it seems Billie remembers MacDowell better than “Wild Rose.” And since we have a longstanding interest in the arts, we were immediately interested in the Colony. As your design for the library has taken shape, how has your interest in the Colony developed? Today, we find we have many more connections to those who have been at MacDowell, and more are developing all the time. The abstraction of knowing of the Colony has been replaced by a sense of a more real, personal connection.
artist who comes to the Colony. An outdoor retreat located behind the reinvented library space, the tranquil planted terrace will offer an inviting site for reading and contemplation or for gatherings. For details on how to add your name to this stirring space for artists, please contact us today at 212-535-9690.
Beyond Books Providing ready access to works of every medium, the new library will enable MacDowell to add to its collection of contributed works from Colony Fellows, which currently stands at more than 10,000 items. It is, and will forever be, a singular collection, housing an array of cultural achievements from every artistic discipline under one roof. MacDowell gratefully accepts donations of Fellows’ artwork, including those that were created in whole or in part at the Colony.
You’ve spent a number of days at MacDowell, studying the site and meeting with artists. How did your experience of sharing meals and ideas with the artists at Colony Hall affect your vision for the project? The sense of community surprised us. Our previous impression was that of insular residences where artists would spend most of their time. We knew of shared meals but did not know of the hunger for community.
Fritz Haeg in front of Adams Studio
TWBTA is renowned for its attention to detail. When Colony Fellows inhabit the new library, what kind of experience do you envision for them on a daily basis? Billie, Brent, and I hope that those who inhabit the new library will feel it has made their stay more rewarding. It will be those who have been residents before who will see the change and added dimension. We hope that the winters feel more congenial, and that each and every Colonist experiences the new library in his or her own personal way. We also hope that Savidge might once again be experienced as a strong, pure destination — one used both as a traditional library and for special gatherings — rather than one overburdened by necessary multiple uses. In time, we hope the nexus of life that is connected to Savidge and its addition becomes synonymous with MacDowell itself. To what extent has the preservation of the existing Savidge Library affected your vision of what the new building could/should be? Savidge Library has been used and loved for generations. There was never a moment when we felt our addition should compete with it for attention. Instead, we always imagined a partnership of difference and mutual respect. If Savidge is experienced as a solid, singular, purposeful building and space, the addition is intended as a more delicate, light-filled, intimate structure open to multiple uses and different studying styles. Library fund-raising is well underway, bolstered by major support from the Kresge Foundation, the Calderwood Foundation, and MacDowell’s board of directors. For the remaining construction costs, MacDowell will depend upon its public supporters.
THANK YOU for your support!
“The MacDowell Colony’s library is the only location where most of my published and recorded work — books, images, and videos — is housed together, available for others to see, and conserved for the future. What a sense of comfort and continuity to see it all together, with the work of other Fellows, whenever I have the privilege to return.” — ARCHITECT Fritz Haeg
Playwright Edward Albee will be on hand to accept the 2011 Edward MacDowell Medal.
Edward Albee Named 2011 MacDowell Medalist
The MacDowell Colony
News
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The MacDowell Colony will present its 52nd Edward MacDowell Medal to renowned playwright Edward Albee on Sunday, August 14, 2011. Called “the leading playwright of his generation” by The New York Times, Albee has received three Pulitzer Prizes and three Tony Awards over the course of his career. Widely celebrated for his masterful use of language and his dedication to experimenting with form, he is the author of a total of 30 plays to date, including his most recognized work, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1963). He received the Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts in 1996, as well as a Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2005. In addition to being president of The Edward F. Albee Foundation, he is currently a Distinguished Professor of Playwriting at the University of Houston. In naming him the 2011 Medalist, André Bishop, Artistic Director of Lincoln Center Theater and chairman of this year’s Medalist selection committee, said, “Edward Albee was chosen for a clear and obvious reason: He is a towering presence in the American theatre. His plays have influenced our culture and our discourse for more than 50 years.” Joining Bishop on the Medal selection committee were writer Peter Cameron, a MacDowell Colony Fellow and board member; James Houghton, the Richard Rodgers Director of the Drama Division at Juilliard and Founding Artistic Director at New York’s Signature Theatre Company; MacDowell Colony Fellow playwright and author Honor Moore; Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage; and Artistic Director for Hartford Stage, Michael Wilson. This year’s Medal Day award ceremony will take place at 12:15 p.m., followed by picnic lunches on Colony grounds (Medal Day picnic lunch baskets can be ordered at www. macdowellcolony.org). Open studio tours hosted by MacDowell artists-in-residence begin at 2:00 p.m. and end at 5:00 p.m. There is no charge to attend Medal Day. The MacDowell Colony is grateful for the support of our Medal Day corporate partner, Lincoln Financial Foundation.
After rolling out the National Council — a donor recognition program for the Colony’s most loyal patrons — in February of 2011, MacDowell is pleased to have confirmed 25 members to date. Entry point begins with a $2,500 annual commitment, including cumulative donations to the Annual Fund, Medal Day, National Benefit, New Hampshire Benefit, or Campaign for the Second Century. Council members are invited to attend exclusive events around the country at little or no additional cost. Interested parties should contact Elena Quevedo at equevedo@macdowellcolony.org or 212-535-9690. Be sure to mark the calendar for this upcoming National Council event: October 19–23, 2011: Fourth annual National Trip. MacDowell’s new Chairman of the Board, Michael Chabon, will host an art-filled weekend in and around the San Francisco Bay Area, where he lives.
Remembering
National Council Update
In early December, MacDowell announced the election of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon as the new chairman of the Colony’s board of directors. Following in the footsteps of a long line of distinguished leaders, Chabon is internationally acclaimed for his complex and diverse work. His first novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh (1988), was a New York Times best seller as was his second, Wonder Boys (1995), which was made into a critically acclaimed film. During three separate residencies at MacDowell, Chabon worked on his third novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, which won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize in Literature and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the PEN/ Faulkner Award, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His most recent work is a collection of essays titled Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures & Regrets of a Husband, Father & Son, which was released by HarperCollins in October of 2009. Stephanie Rausser
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Chabon Elected Chairman of the Board
Chabon says he views the opportunity to take on this leadership role as a natural extension of the sense of duty he has always felt as a returning MacDowell Fellow to carry, foster, and hold true to the unique spirit of the Colony. “MacDowell is a miracle that has come through for me many times over the years,” he says. “Serving as board chair gives me the opportunity to repay my indebtedness just a tiny bit.”
Lee Hoiby_Composer Lee Hoiby died on March 28, 2011, in New York City. A five-time
MacDowell Fellow whose prolific repertoire included operas, choral works, chamber works, song cycles, and more than 100 songs, he was the recipient of various grants and awards from many prestigious organizations, as well as numerous commissions from New York City Opera, American Opera Projects, and the Spoleto Festival, among many others. The world premiere of his opera Romeo and Juliet is scheduled for the 2012/2013 season. He was 85.
Rosamond Putnam_Longtime MacDowell
friend and Board Emerita Rosamond Putnam passed away in Keene, New Hampshire, on February 16, 2011, at the age of 92. She began her 23-year term as a MacDowell board member in 1969, serving as board secretary for most of her tenure. Lending her grace and intelligence to help govern the Colony through various transitions, she was elected board emerita in 1992. Her generous contributions to MacDowell over the past two decades include the funding of the Rosamond and David Putnam Studio for graphic arts; the establishment of the Putnam Transportation Fund to help defray travel costs for artists traveling to the Colony from abroad; and, most recently, a grant matching one received by the Calderwood Foundation for the funding of the new library as part of the Campaign for the Second Century. MacDowell is grateful to Ros for giving so freely of her time and resources to help support generations of artists at MacDowell.
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Benny Andrews Sale at Sotheby’s to Benefit MacDowell
Left: One of Benny Andrews’s works that will be offered up for sale on behalf of MacDowell. Freedom of the Press, study #1; oil and collage on paper; 36” x 24”; 1990.
Courtesy of Brown University
Art collectors who purchase the three Benny Andrews works presented at Sotheby’s fall Contemporary Art Sale will have the added distinction of supporting artists at MacDowell. Donated by the Andrews Humphrey Family Foundation, these oil and collage compositions from Andrews’s Freedom of the Press series will be auctioned off at Sotheby’s on September 22nd. A four-time Colony Fellow, Andrews was a member of MacDowell’s board of directors from 1987 until his death in 2006. The pieces will be exhibited at Sotheby’s gallery the week before the auction; all proceeds will go directly toward providing artist residencies at MacDowell. At the direction of Andrews’s widow, visual artist Nene Humphrey, the foundation donated these works to support the Colony’s operations and to endow the Benny Andrews Fellowship, which aims to advance the diversity of MacDowell’s residency program. Held twice annually, Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Sale features work by Post-War masters such as Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, and Willem de Kooning and celebrated contemporary artists such as Glenn Ligon, Cindy Sherman, and Andres Gursky. Gifts of artwork are a particularly meaningful way to support MacDowell, ensuring that the money exchanged for art is reinvested to support artists and the creation of new work at the Colony. Art collectors and enthusiasts are encouraged to help MacDowell maximize its return on the sale of these works by participating in the auction and promoting it to other interested parties.
New BOARD MEMBER
Erik Ehn
Playwright/ Theatre Director
MacDowell Serves Two Helpings of Mac ’n’ Cheese
on Wednesday evenings in the intimate setting of a supporter’s home. The 2011 season kicked off on April 27th as Louise Eastman hosted architect Aki Ishida and writer Anthony Schneider for a delightful evening in her New York garden. Brothers and writers Joe and John Fox were featured artists on May 11th in the Boston home of Monica and Michael Lehner. To subscribe to Mac ’n’ Cheese, please contact Dean Klingler at dklingler@macdowellcolony.org or 212-535-9690.
Save the Dates Mac ’n’ Cheese, New York: Featuring Hunter Bell and Susan Blackwell June 29, 2011
Mac ’n’ Cheese, New York: Featuring Julie Orringer and Ryan Harty September 21, 2011
Mac ’n’ Cheese, Boston: (details to come) October 12, 2011
National Benefit, New York:
National Benefit Celebrates MacNeil’s 17 Years of Leadership On Monday, December 6, 2010, Lisa Kron hosted an all-star tribute to Robert MacNeil to celebrate his retirement after 17 years as chairman of the board. Writers Jonathan Franzen and Calvin Trillin honored him before an enthusiastic crowd of more than 300 guests at TheTimesCenter in New York City. During the program, MacNeil announced the Colony’s new chairman, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Colony Fellow Michael Chabon. The evening began with an explosion of power and grace as dancers from the Ailey II Dance Company performed a piece choreographed by Donald Byrd. Colson Whitehead read from his work, and Emmy Award-winning actress Cherry Jones read from the work of Willa Cather. A clip from Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s latest film, It’s Kind of a Funny Story, was also screened, and violinist Maria Bachmann and pianist Stephen Gosling performed Paul Moravec’s Ariel Fantasy. The evening came to a rousing close with a satirical sketch about life at the Colony created and performed by Kron and Michael Friedman and also featuring Byrd, Chabon, Moravec, and Trillin. Special thanks to National Benefit chairs Stephanie and Robert M. Olmsted; Barbara and Andrew Senchak; and Theresa and Charles F. Stone, III. MacDowell would also like to thank our extraordinary honorary chairs, James Casebere, Stephen Daldry, Philip Glass, Isaac Mizrahi, and Lorna Simpson. MacDowell appreciates the generosity of its many donors, including Random House/Bertelsmann for its sponsorship and Farrar, Straus & Giroux for donating copies of Jonathan Franzen’s novel Freedom, which were given to all guests.
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Left to right: Jonathan Franzen, Calvin Trillin, Michael Chabon, and Robert MacNeil.
MacDowell Downtown
Other Outreach
A series of free presentations offered by MacDowell Colony artists, the 2011 season of MacDowell Downtown is scheduled to take place the first Friday of the month from March to November at the Peterborough Historical Society. Singer Joseph Keckler packed the house with a rousing performance at the piano at March’s MacDowell Downtown, followed in April by documentary filmmaker Jessica Oreck, who screened excerpts of past films and current works-in-progress. May and June featured the work of three different writers: poet Andrea Cohen and fiction writer Nancy Reisman shared verse and creative writing at May’s MacDowell Downtown, while psychologist and nonfiction writer Robert Akeret presented humorous anecdotes and passages from his written work in June.
Throughout the year, MacDowell frequently hosts and participates in both on-site and off-site meetings and events that are focused on both local and national issues related to the importance of the arts. In December, the Colony opened its doors to host a roundtable discussion about cultural tourism (with Resident Director David Macy in attendance) held in Savidge Library by New Hampshire State Department of Cultural Resources Commissioner, Van MacLeod. In January, Macy hosted another meeting at the Colony for Arts Alive! — a nonprofit organization working to advance arts and culture in the local community, for which Macy serves as a board member — to discuss opportunities for local arts organizations to collaborate and attract cultural tourism to the Monadnock region.
MacDowell in the Schools The excitement of the creative process is brought to life in local classrooms on a regular basis through our MacDowell in the Schools program. In December, nonfiction writer Darcy Frey paid a return visit to ConVal High School, where he led a discussion about his award- winning book The Last Shot with 75 ConVal students from various classes. The book’s publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, donated 150 copies of the book so it could be incorporated into the school’s curriculum. Also in December, students from The Meeting School in Rindge visited the Colony, where composer David Rakowski shared his music in Monday Music Studio. In February, in collaboration with the Sharon Arts Center’s Art Access Program, painter Lori Larusso invited art students from several area high schools to Alexander Studio, where she shared her work, discussed art school, and talked about what it’s like to be a working artist. In March, architect Ronit Eisenbach presented her work and spoke to architectural engineering students and a ceramics class at ConVal.
Singer Joseph Keckler performs for a full house at MacDowell Downtown.
Michelle Aldredge
Outreach
December 5, 2011
The Ailey II Dance Company performing at the 2010 National Benefit.
The MacDowell Colony
play host to two MacDowell Fellow presentations
Events
New York City home into Boston. Now both cities
STEVE TUCKER
series, Mac ’n’ Cheese, expanded from its original
STEVE TUCKER
In 2010, MacDowell’s popular subscription salon
Top, center: Writer Darcy Frey talks to students at ConVal High School after his MacDowell in the Schools presentation. Above: Lori Larusso hosts a studio visit with Sharon Arts Center students.
Left to right: Writer Timothy Sohn, composer Tina Davidson, playwright Kia Corthron, filmmaker Tomonari Nishikawa, visual artist Selena Kimball, and architect Gail Borden.
From November of 2010 through April of 2011, The MacDowell Colony welcomed the 137 artists listed below, who came from 23 states and 9 countries. This group included 50 writers, 23 artists working in theatre, 20 visual artists, 15 composers, 11 film/video artists, 10 interdisciplinary artists, and 8 architects. Simon Fink, Composer St. Joseph, MO
Larry Krone, Visual Artist New York, NY
Anthony Schneider, Writer New York, NY
David Adjmi, Theatre Artist Brooklyn, NY
Scott Frankel, Composer New York, NY
Olivia Laing, Writer East Sussex, UNITED KINGDOM
Beth Schwartzapfel, Writer Brooklyn, NY
Natalia Almada, Film/Video Artist Colonia Roma, MEXICO
Vanessa Gezari, Writer Washington, DC
Lori Larusso, Visual Artist Lexington, KY
Jordan Seavey, Theatre Artist Brooklyn, NY
Cam Archer, Film/Video Artist Santa Cruz, CA
Jane Gillooly, Film/Video Artist Somerville, MA
Dan Levenson, Visual Artist Brooklyn, NY
Betty Shamieh, Theatre Artist New York, NY
David Auburn, Theatre Artist New York, NY
Samantha Gorman,
Brian Lowdermilk, Theatre Artist New York, NY
Justin Sherin, Theatre Artist Mt. Laurel, NJ
Anne Marie Macari, Writer Lambertville, NJ
Sumakshi Singh, Visual Artist Haryana, INDIA
James Magruder, Theatre Artist Baltimore, MD
Alvin Singleton, Composer Atlanta, GA
Zibuokle Martinaityte, Composer New York, NY
Timothy Sohn, Writer Brooklyn, NY
Wyatt Mason, Writer Rhinebeck, NY
Anna Solomon, Writer Providence, RI
Mitch McCabe, Film/Video Artist Los Angeles, CA
Patrick Somerville, Writer Chicago, IL
Mary Ann McFadden, Writer Laredo, TX
Evelyn Spence, Writer Brooklyn, NY
Katie Merz, Visual Artist Brooklyn, NY
Gerald Stern, Writer Lambertville, NJ
Daniel Mihalyo, Visual Artist Seattle, WA
Nova Ren Suma, Writer New York, NY
Leslie Murray, Visual Artist Brooklyn, NY
Daniel Swift, Writer Brooklyn, NY
Itty Neuhaus,
Marilee Talkington,
Joel Harrison, Composer New York, NY John Hartmann, Architect Brooklyn, NY
Film/Video Artist
Rachel Basch, Writer Sandy Hook, CT Amy Bloom, Writer Durham, CT Nicholas Boggs, Writer Brooklyn, NY Tamara Bogolasky, Visual Artist Brooklyn, NY Gail Borden, Architect Los Angeles, CA Sarah Burghauser, Writer Los Angeles, CA Daniel Cannizzaro,
Interdisciplinary Artist Providence, RI
Matt Grasso, Writer Bayonne, NJ Alexandra Grimal, Composer Paris, FRANCE Richard Griswold, Architect Boston, MA Yotam Haber, Composer Brooklyn, NY Meron Hadero, Writer Seattle, WA Alex Halberstadt, Writer Brooklyn, NY
Interdisciplinary Artist Providence, RI
Annie Han, Visual Artist Seattle, WA
Suzanne Carbonneau, Writer Fairfax, VA
Jennifer Harmon, Architect Ann Arbor, MI
David Carpenter, Composer Philadelphia, PA
Joshua Elias Harmon,
Kate Carr, Visual Artist Santa Fe, NM Cecil Castellucci, Writer Los Angeles, CA Chao-Jan Chang, Composer Waltham, MA Don Colburn, Writer Portland, OR Eduardo Corral, Writer Casa Grande, AZ Kara Lee Corthron, Theatre Artist New York, NY Kia Corthron, Theatre Artist New York, NY Zoe Crosher, Visual Artist Los Angeles, CA Katie Crouch, Writer San Francisco, CA Gordon Dahlquist, Theatre Artist New York, NY Tina Davidson, Composer Marietta, PA Benoit Denizet-Lewis, Writer Boston, MA Catharine Dill,
Interdisciplinary Artist Brooklyn, NY
Jeff Dolven, Writer Brooklyn, NY Bill Domonkos, Film/Video Artist Oakland, CA Sara du Sablon, Writer Chapel Hill, NC Ronit Eisenbach, Architect Takoma Park, MD Amy Ellingson, Visual Artist San Francisco, CA Angie Eng, Interdisciplinary Artist Paris, FRANCE Anna Evans, Writer Hainesport, NJ Larry Feign, Writer Lantau Island, HONG KONG
The MacDowell Colony is located at 100 High Street Peterborough, NH 03458 Telephone: 603-924-3886 Fax: 603-924-9142 Administrative office: 163 East 81st Street New York, NY 10028 Telephone: 212-535-9690 Fax: 212-737-3803 Web site: www.macdowellcolony.org E-mail: newsletter@macdowellcolony.org
Theatre Artist
Atlanta, GA
Interdisciplinary Artist
Theatre Artist
Fishkill, NY
San Francisco, CA
Tomonari Nishikawa,
Kate Tarker, Theatre Artist Brooklyn, NY
Okazaki, JAPAN
Darrah Teitel, Theatre Artist Montreal, CANADA
On the cover… TOD Williams Billie Tsien Architects
The MacDowell Colony
8
Liz Duffy Adams, Theatre Artist Greenfield, MA
Perspective rendering of the entrance of the new library complex designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects.
Carol Hebald, Writer New York, NY
Jessica Oreck, Film/Video Artist New York, NY
Nene Humphrey, Visual Artist Brooklyn, NY
Mamiko Otsubo, Visual Artist Brooklyn, NY
Megan Hustad, Writer New York, NY
Karen Palmer, Writer Los Angeles, CA
Timothy Hyde, Architect Cambridge, MA
Sungyeon Park,
Corinna Vallianatos, Writer Claremont, CA
Interdisciplinary Artist
Hisao Ihara, Interdisciplinary Artist Brooklyn, NY
Sungnam, SOUTH KOREA
Vint Virga, Writer East Greenwich, RI
Carolie Parker, Writer Altadena, CA
Aleksandra Vrebalov, Composer New York, NY
Stacy Perman, Writer Brooklyn, NY
Brent Watanabe,
Editor: Karen Sampson
Seattle, WA
Design and Production: John Hall Design Group, Beverly, MA
Gisela Insuaste, Visual Artist Brooklyn, NY Matthew Jensen, Visual Artist Brooklyn, NY Sheri Joseph, Writer Atlanta, GA
Mary Ann Peters, Visual Artist Seattle, WA
Charlie White, Film/Video Artist Los Angeles, CA
Tom Piazza, Writer New Orleans, LA
Joseph Keckler,
Jen Plaskowitz, Visual Artist Woodstock, MD
Kait Kerrigan, Theatre Artist New York, NY Nancy Keystone, Theatre Artist Los Angeles, CA Selena Kimball, Visual Artist Brooklyn, NY Charles Kondek, Theatre Artist Hudson, NY Michael Korie, Theatre Artist New York, NY Julia Kots, Film/Video Artist New York, NY
Genevieve Quick, Visual Artist San Francisco, CA Brian Quirk, Theatre Artist New York, NY David Rakowski, Composer Maynard, MA Octavia Randolph, Writer Nahant, MA Rufus Reid, Composer Teaneck, NJ Nathalie Rozot, Architect New York, NY Domenica Ruta, Writer Danvers, MA Mary Jo Salter, Writer Baltimore, MD
The MacDowell Colony awards Fellowships to artists of exceptional talent, providing time, space, and an inspiring environment in which to do creative work. The Colony was founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and pianist Marian Nevins MacDowell, his wife. Fellows receive room, board, and exclusive use of a studio. The sole criterion for acceptance is talent, as determined by a panel representing the discipline of the applicant. The MacDowell Colony was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1997 for “nurturing and inspiring many of this century’s finest artists.” Applications are available on our Web site at www.macdowellcolony.org. Chairman: Michael Chabon President: Susan Davenport Austin Executive Director: Cheryl A. Young Resident Director: David Macy
Lorin Wertheimer,
Brooklyn, NY
Rachel Kadish, Writer Newtonville, MA
Sibyl Kempson, Theatre Artist New York, NY
Interdisciplinary Artist
Film/Video Artist
Interdisciplinary Artist
Brooklyn, NY
Eugene Uman, Composer Brattleboro, VT
Bundith Phunsombatlert,
Lauren Joyce, Writer Boston, MA
Interdisciplinary Artist
Lynne Tillman, Writer New York, NY
Brooklyn, NY
Colson Whitehead, Writer Brooklyn, NY Anne Marie Wirth, Writer Missoula, MT Matthew Wolf, Film/Video Artist Brooklyn, NY Doug Wright, Theatre Artist New York, NY Mark Wright, Architect Glen Ridge, NJ Susan Yankowitz, Theatre Artist New York, NY Matthew Yeager, Writer Brooklyn, NY
MacDowell is published twice a year, in June and December. Past Fellows may send newsworthy activities to the editor in Peterborough. Deadlines for inclusion are April 1st and October 1st.
All photographs not otherwise credited: Joanna Eldredge Morrissey Printer: Shawmut Printing, Danvers, MA Mailing House: Sterling Business Print & Mail, Peterborough, NH No part of MacDowell may be reused in any way without written permission. © 2011, The MacDowell Colony The names of MacDowell Fellows are noted in bold throughout this newsletter.
James Yeh, Writer Brooklyn, NY Stephen Yip, Composer Houston, TX
The Colony is grateful for the generous support of the following organizations: