85 Artists Awarded MacDowell Fellowships

The MacDowell COLONY has awarded fellowships to 85 artists from 20 states and six countries, working in seven disciplines. The fellowships are for upcoming late-winter and spring residencies at the nation's first artist residency program. The incoming group of MacDowell Fellows includes writers Rebecca Skloot, Elif Batuman, and Azmat Khan, poet Mary Ruefle, composer Evan Chambers, interdisciplinary artists Basil Twist and Starlee Kine, filmmaker Stacey Steers, theatre artists Daniel and Patrick Lazour, and visual artist Carl Wilson.

These highly competitive fellowships, each with an average value of $10,000, were awarded from a pool of 721 applications received between July 2017 and Sept. 2017. A panel of distinguished professionals in each discipline selects Fellows based solely on their talent as evidenced by a work sample and project description. While at MacDowell Fellows are provided a private studio for a period of up to eight weeks, accommodations, and three meals a day.

"Once again, an amazing array of gifted artists have applied for MacDowell Fellowships. These artists range in age from 20 to 92, perhaps the widest range we've ever had," says Executive Director Cheryl A. Young. "This generational span is a testament to our continued effort to help artists of all ages and at all stages of their careers. This mix also makes for a richer experience for those in residence."

Also among this group are artists displaced by the recent natural disasters in Florida, Texas, and Mexico. As in the past, MacDowell Fellows who live in the affected areas were eligible to apply for emergency time if their studios, homes, or livelihood were impacted.

Fellows make use of uninterrupted time to work and enjoy the rare opportunity for multidisciplinary exchange. Artists with demonstrated financial need are eligible for travel grants and stipends to cover expenses that accrue at home during a residency. The MacDowell COLONY awards more than 300 fellowships each year. The next application deadline is April 15, 2018 for the fall 2018 residency period.

By awarding these fellowships, The MacDowell COLONY continues its long-standing mission to nurture the arts by offering creative individuals of the highest talent an inspiring environment in which they can produce enduring works of the imagination. It is a mission that has inspired essential contributions to American and world culture for more than a century, and have to date earned Fellows 83 Pulitzer prizes as well as many other accolades.

The most recent group of Fellows includes, according to discipline:

• Composers Kris Allen, Eugene Birman, Antonio Blanco, Evan Chambers, Anthony De Ritis, Tonia Ko, Andrew May, Javier Moreno Sanchez, Koji Nakano, Octavio Vazquez, and Pete Wyer.
• Film/Video Artists Sharlene Bamboat, Alexandra Cuesta, Janie Geiser, Salomé Lamas, Alexis Mitchell, Stacey Steers, and Haruko Tanaka.
• Interdisciplinary Artists Nichole Canuso, Robin Deacon, Starlee Kine, Kate Levy, Tara Mateik, Erik Ruin, Carlos Sirah, Morgan Thorson, and Basil Twist.
• Theatre Artists Fiona Doyle, Georgina Escobar, Jessica Huang, Daniel Lazour, Patrick Lazour, Casey Llewellyn, Mona Mansour, and Kate Tarker.
• Visual Artists Elizabeth Bonaventura, Becky Brown, Victoria Burge, Erik den Breejen, Rose Dickson, Daniel Duford, Rashawn Griffin, Elana Herzog, Dawn Kim, Shari Mendelson, Marc Ohrem-Leclef, Erin Riley, Sarah Welch, Carl Wilson, Fo Wilson, and Letha Wilson.
• Nonfiction Writers Louise Aronson, Amy Gall, Lewis Hyde, Azmat Khan, Carrie Laben, Daniel Levin Becker, Greg Marshall, Rebecca Skloot, Joe Watson, Julia Wertz, and Laura Esther Wolfson.
• Fiction Writers Elif Batuman, Carolyn Byrne, Amity Gaige, Daniel Hernandez, David Keane, Kelly Luce, Claire Luchette, Lee Pinkas, Eric Puchner, Misha Rai, Marianne Shaneen, Sarah Smith, Amy Waldman, Xuan Wang, and translator Joyce Zonana.
• Poets Marianne Boruch, Ama Codjoe, Mary Crow, Amanda Galvan Huynh, Eva Heisler, Luljeta Lleshanaku, Mary Ruefle, and Rachel Zucker.

Image caption:The latest group of MacDowell Fellows includes (clockwise from top left): Stacey Steers, Rashawn Griffin, Mary Ruefle, Koji Nakano, Amity Gaige, Basil Twist, Morgan Thorsen, and Eric Puchner.

Contemporary for 110 years:
The MacDowell COLONY is a contemporary arts organization that nurtures artists in seven disciplines, annually presenting more than 300 diverse emerging and established boundary-pushing artists with MacDowell Fellowships awarded by competitive peer review. Located on 450 wooded acres in New Hampshire, MacDowell also awards the Edward MacDowell Medal annually and engages a wider public with the creative process through community and school programs that foster cultural dialog and expand appreciation for the arts. As the nation's first artist residency program, MacDowell has been advancing artistic freedom since 1907, its 14,500 residencies leading to a legacy of award-winning artworks exhibited, published, and performed around the world.

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