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Arrival of 65 Artists at MacDowell Marks Last of COVID-related Reschedules

MacDowell - May 26, 2022

Type: Press Releases, Artist News, Fellowships

Collage of portraits of 8 Fellows

Clockwise from top left: Orlando Tirado Amador, Tonita Cervantes, Safiya Sinclair, Vadim Neselovskyi, Buzz Slutzky (portrait by Sarah Tricker), Mark Tribe, Gina Kamentsky, and Monica Youn.

Incoming group of artists working in seven disciplines will arrive from 19 states and eight countries for residencies May - September.

MacDowell, the nation’s first artist residency program, will welcome 65 Fellows working in multiple disciplines this May through September. The incoming group includes 13 international artists from Spain, the United Kingdom, Dubai, Brazil, Norway, Canada, Philippines, and Australia, and the rest will travel to New Hampshire from their homes in 19 different U.S. states. In total, almost 60 percent of the cohort are arriving for their first MacDowell residencies.

These artists represent the last of MacDowell’s rescheduling efforts as a result of postponements of residencies due to COVID-19. This fall, the program is continuing its rolling scheduling protocol on a new biannual application timetable.

Over the last two years, the MacDowell admissions department has steadfastly ensured that artists who were previous scheduled but unable to attend due to COVID would be accommodated on campus for their residency. This remarkable achievement – the rescheduling of nearly all residencies delayed by the pandemic – is now complete. “This extraordinary incoming group of artists represents a wide array of disciplines, interests, and global cultures,” said Executive Director Philip Himberg. “This of course aligns well with our intentional organization-wide focus that every member of our intrepid staff understands to be vital to the arts – to making sure our program is open and accepting of as diverse an artist population as possible.”

This group of incoming artists-in-residence includes architect Robert Hutchison; composers Carolyn Yarnell, Vadim Neselovskyi, and Yun Du; filmmakers Lana Lin, Rhiana Yazzie, Orlando Tirado Amador, and Gina Kamentsky; visual artists Tonita Cervantes, Laura Newman, and Mark Tribe; interdisciplinary artists Buzz Slutzky, Shaun Irons, Lauren Petty, and Taro Hattori; poets Safiya Sinclair and Monica Youn; nonfiction writers Carole Cadwalladr and Sheri Fink; and fiction writers Ken Kalfus, Beena Kamlani, Mimi Lok, and Beth Underdown.

Fellows’ applications are reviewed by a panel of esteemed professionals in each discipline. These panelists make their selections based on applicants’ vision and talent as reflected by a work sample and project description. Once at MacDowell, selected Fellows are provided a private studio, three meals a day, and accommodations for a period of up to six weeks.

According to discipline, incoming Fellows are:

MacDowell awards more than 300 Fellowships a year, which are highly sought after by artists of all disciplines around the world. In fact, for the next residency period – fall 2022 through winter 2023 – MacDowell received 2,967 applications, a number for a single application cycle that exceeded all previous annual totals. The next application period opens on July 15, 2022.

For more than a century, MacDowell has provided uninterrupted time to reflect, innovate, study, practice, and create, and its Fellows have contributed significantly to American and world culture and have been honored with numerous awards and accolades. Each year, MacDowell is a haven for more than 300 artists and strives to make its residency program accessible and possible for everyone. Artists with demonstrated financial need are eligible to receive travel grants and stipends that offset expenses accrued at home while they are in residency.