The National Council

The National Council is a group of individuals from across the country that believes in the importance of nurturing artistic creativity and sustaining MacDowell's mission. Membership is reserved for supporters whose various annual donations add up to $2,500 or more. A full calendar of insider experiences gives these generous donors rare access to the Colony's residency program and the new works that come out of it. Members meet MacDowell artists and preview their works-in-progress during a series of studio visits, theatre rehearsals, gallery talks, tours of private art collections, and readings. The year culminates in a National Trip to a major contemporary art destination. Most significantly, the National Council provides a solid financial foundation to sustain the excellence of MacDowell's program and helps build a national awareness of the arts.

Benefits

• A welcome reception with Colony Fellows and Executive Director Cheryl A. Young
• Studio visits
• Theatre rehearsals
• Tours of private art collections
• Ticketed events featuring talk-backs with MacDowell Colony Fellows, for which members are responsible only for the cost of a group-discount ticket
• A monthly electronic newsletter from the Executive Director sharing news and developments about MacDowell and its artists
• A dinner with the Board of Directors, at which you will meet Chairman and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon
• A private tour of The MacDowell Colony during one of two trips to New Hampshire that are organized to familiarize members with the organization and the mission they are supporting (please see calendar of events below)
• The Council’s National Trip, an annual excursion offering exclusive access to exciting arts destinations at a low group rate

2011 National Council Calendar of Events

National Trip

National Council members are invited to participate in MacDowell's annual National Trip, a guided excursion to a major contemporary art destination. Participants meet with local Colony Fellows and arts patrons, enjoy visits to private art collections and sites, and attend special performances and presentations of work by MacDowell artists. In October 2011, the National Trip will return to San Francisco to experience the Bay Area as MacDowell’s new Chairman, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Michael Chabon, knows it. For more information, please contact Elena Quevedo, Director of Individual Giving and Special Events, at 212-535-9690 or via .

The 2010 National Trip to the Berkshires in western Massachusetts featured a private tour and dinner at the Clark Museum with director Michael Conforti and an exclusive visit to Mass MoCA to see Material World, a site-specific installation by Colony Fellows Wade Kavanaugh and Stephen Nguyen. Other highlights included visits to Edith Wharton's luxurious estate at The Mount, the Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio in Lenox, and the private homes of several contemporary art collectors. Accommodations were provided by the unique Porches Inn in North Adams.

The premiere of Stewart Wallace's opera The Bonesetter's Daughter at the Santa Fe Opera House (shown above; courtesy photo) was part of the 2009 National Trip.

View itineraries from previous trips:
2009: Santa Fe, NM
2008: San Francisco, CA