A Medal Day Celebration in Historic Harrisville
MacDowell partners with Toadstool Bookshops and Historic Harrisville to present two exciting new programs as part of our 65th Annual MacDowell Medal Day celebrations: a literary conversation with Pulitzer-honored writers Lucy Sante and Alexandra Lange and an afternoon of open studios highlighting the artists and businesses of Historic Harrisville.
Both events are free and open to the public. Advance registration is highly encouraged — find out more and RSVP below.
In Conversation: Lucy Sante & Alexandra Lange
(Lucy Sante (left) Jem Cohen photo; Alexandra Lange (right) Mark Wickens photo)
Join us on Thursday, June 26 in Historic Harrisville’s Spinning Room for a conversation on the art of writing about culture between award-winning writers and MacDowell Fellows Lucy Sante and Alexandra Lange. With oeuvres that span genres and fields of culture including music, literature, politics, photography, design, and urbanism, these acclaimed authors will read from their recent books and delve into questions of developing the critic’s eye and the author’s voice.
Audience Q&A to follow. Advance registration for this event is free (with optional book purchase) and required.
WHEN: Thursday, June 26, 6:30 P.M.
WHERE: The Spinning Room in Historic Harrisville (69 Main Street, Harrisville, NH)
Alexandra Lange is a journalist, design critic, and author. Her most recent book is Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall, published in 2022. She is a contributing writer for Bloomberg CityLab, a MacDowell Fellow, and a past Loeb Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. In 2025 she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism for a series on how urban design and architecture affect children and families.
Lucy Sante is the author of Low Life, Evidence, The Factory of Facts, Kill All Your Darlings, Folk Photography, The Other Paris, Maybe the People Would Be the Times, Nineteen Reservoirs, and, most recently, I Heard Her Call My Name: A Memoir of Transition. Her awards include a Whiting Writers Award, an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Grammy (for album notes), the International Center of Photography's Infinity Award, and Guggenheim and Cullman Center fellowships. She retired in 2023 after 24 years teaching writing and the history of photography at Bard College.
Historic Harrisville Open Studios
Image by Michael Pellegrini
On Saturday, June 28, the tenants of Historic Harrisville—now a multi-use complex of artists’ studios, small businesses, and cultural spaces—open their doors for Historic Harrisville’s first-ever Open Studios Day. You are warmly invited to explore and connect with the artists, writers, designers, and business owners whose diverse contributions enrich the former Cheshire Mills complex with art and community spirit.
Visitors to Historic Harrisville’s Open Studios and MacDowell subscribers will receive a card for 10% off at the Harrisville General Store, applicable the day of Open Studios only.
Advance registration is encouraged; RSVP using the form below.