Events

MacDowell brings the community together with art and artists at our Peterborough, NH residency program and at our Chelsea, NY space in free programs as well as fundraisers to expand appreciation of the arts.

Upcoming Events

MacDowell Downtown

MacDowell Downtown is a free series of public presentations by MacDowell Fellows that typically take place on the first Friday of the month from March to November in downtown Peterborough. Each season of MacDowell Downtown features a wide array of programming, including film screenings, readings, artist talks, interviews, musical, performances, and more.

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New Hampshire Benefit 2024

Join us on May 18, 2024 for our next New Hampshire Benefit! This annual event brings together artists-in-residence, MacDowell supporters, and business leaders for an intimate community celebration of art and artists on our grounds! To learn more about our New Hampshire Benefit, or to become a sponsor, please email events@macdowell.org. Use the button below to see a slideshow from last spring's event.

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Medal Day 2024

Stay tuned for information on our next Medal Day in July of 2024! This beloved New Hampshire event gathers community members, fans, and artists on MacDowell's verdant grounds for the awarding of the Edward MacDowell Medal. Last year, more than a thousand arts lovers visited us on July 23, 2023 when the medal was conferred on filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin. For more or to become a sponsor, please email events@macdowell.org.

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Past Events

National Benefit 2023

MacDowell’s National Benefit on October 16, 2023 filled the Ziegfeld Ballroom with a generous crowd and featured musical entertainment from the worlds of jazz, musical theatre, and the world stage. It also saw the presentation of the 4th Marian MacDowell Arts Advocacy Award to Fairfax Dorn, the co-founder and artistic director of Ballroom Marfa.

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Medal Day 2023

More than a thousand arts lovers visited us for Medal Day, July 23, 2023! This beloved New Hampshire event gathers community members, fans, and artists on MacDowell's verdant grounds for the awarding of the Edward MacDowell Medal. Visit the page to see video of the ceremony honoring esteemed filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin, images, and read transcripts. After the ceremony, visitors enjoyed a picnic lunch and visited open studios. For more information or to become a sponsor next summer, please email events@macdowell.org.

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The 2nd Annual Katherine Min Fellowship Celebration

Watch a replay of the June 1 Katherine Min Fellowship celebration. The MacDowell community and the family and friends of Katherine Min gathered for the second annual celebration of the endowed fellowship awarded annually to elevate the voices of Asian American writers at MacDowell. MacDowell Fellow Alexander Chee hosted this year's celebration from the MacDowell NYC offices. The evening of readings and commemoration featured Jessica Shi, 2020 Katherine Min Fellow, Lisa Ko, 2021 Katherine Min Fellow, and Kayla Min Andrews, writer and daughter of Katherine Min.

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92Y-MacDowell Salons on Art & Creativity

Over the course of 2021, the 92nd Street Y and MacDowell partnered to present a series of five salons about the arts and creativity. Relive each of these unscripted, interdisciplinary conversations that happen every day at MacDowell from our series page via the button below:

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I Was Becoming: A Reading and Conversation

I Was Becoming celebrated the partnership between MacDowell and The Rona Jaffe Foundation with a reading and conversation with writers Elif Batuman, Chelsea Bieker, Monica Sok, and Julie Orringer on Monday, February 8th. You can watch the hour-long presentation at its page!

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Journalism in the Post-Truth Era

The MacDowell Journalism Panel, “Art and Urgency: Journalism in the Post-Truth Era,” took place on October 26 at 7 p.m. but you can watch the recorded discussion moderated by Virginia Quarterly Review Editor Paul Reyes with prominent journalists Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, Meera Subramanian, Alexis Okeowo, and Jeff Sharlet.

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James Baldwin Library Dedication

To recognize James Baldwin and his extraordinary cultural legacy, MacDowell’s library has been named in his honor. Baldwin’s work as a novelist, poet, activist, essayist, playwright, social critic, and cultural leader continues to have enormous impact on the public imagination.

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