Anita Thacher (1940-2017) was a multimedia artist who served on the MacDowell Board of Directors from 1979-1985. Thacher, who was in residence in 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, and 1987, was known for her work in a variety of mediums – film, video, public art, multimedia, light, architectural and sculptural installation, as well as painting, photography, and prints. Her art explores issues of perception both spatial and personal, and memory, childhood, and domestic themes are fundamental elements in her work. She was the recipient of numerous grants and awards from various organizations. Among them are The National Endowment for the Arts (four grants), The New York State Council on the Arts (five grants), The Ford Foundation, The American Film Institute, The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, and The New York Women in Film and Television Preservation Fund. Public collections where her work resides include The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, The Museum of Modern Art, The Arsenal, the Internationales Forum des Jungen Films. National and international exhibitions included The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, The New York Film Festival, P.S.1, The Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jeu de Paume, and The Whitney Museum of American Art among others.
In 2017, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences accepted Anita’s original films and videos into its Academy Archive with a commitment to restoring as well as archiving her work. She joins Stan Brakhage, Warren Sonbert, and other highly regarded experimental filmmakers in the Academy Archive. In 2018, the Guggenheim Museum acquired Anita’s film installation, Anteroom, developed at MacDowell, after it was re-mounted by her gallery (Microscope Gallery) shortly after her death. The installation was first shown at the Hirshhorn Museum Biennial in 1982.
