Salon Series

SALON SERIES

The MacDowell Colony’s Salon events celebrate the spirit of MacDowell by bringing Colony Fellows and leading figures in the creative arts together with MacDowell friends and supporters for lively discussions on issues in contemporary art. Salons are held throughout the year in New York and in other cities around the country.

Members of The MacDowell Circle, at the Willa Cather Contributor level and above, receive invitations to selected Salon events. To learn more about becoming a member of The MacDowell Circle, please call Elena Quevedo at 212-535-9690.

Recent Salon Events have included:

Jazz Conversations
MacDowell board member Helen S. Tucker hosted a Salon featuring Colony Fellow author Gary Giddins leading a fascinating discussion about the current jazz scene with Lois Gilbert, founder of JazzCorner.com; Don Lucoff, founder of the public relations company DL Media; and Bruce Lundvall, President/CEO of EMI Jazz & Classics.

The Creative Process: Working Across the Disciplinary Divide
The Colony hosted a Salon evening at the home of RoseLee Goldberg and Dakota Jackson, that explored the nature and range of interdisciplinary art. Colony Fellows Andrew Ginzel, Laurie Olinder, and Mac Wellman presented their work during a dynamic discussion led by Ms. Goldberg. A model of MacDowell’s planned Interdisciplinary Studio was on view.

On the Road
MacDowell friends and supporters enjoyed a tour of Dia:Beacon led by MacDowell board member Amy Baker Sandback, Dia’s director of collection research. The new museum in Beacon, NY, houses Dia Art Foundation’s collection of major sculptures from the 1960s to the present in a 300,000-square-foot historic printing factory overlooking the Hudson River.

Conversations in Concert
Board member John Hargraves and Nancy Newcomb hosted this exciting Salon in their home. Colony Fellow composers Robert Beaser and Stewart Wallace introduced their musical selections, which were performed by William Ferguson, John Hancock, and Mark Ribot.

Across the River and Into the Lofts: Brooklyn Now
This salon was hosted by Harvey S. Shipley Miller and The Judith Rothschild Foundation in New York City. Board member Robert Storr led a wonderful conversation with Colony Fellows Jimbo Blachly, James Esber, Dana Kane, and Glenn Ligon about visual artists living and working in Brooklyn.

Writing from Life: The Art of the Memoir
This salon, hosted by Bob and Stephanie Olmsted at their home in New York City. Chairman Robert MacNeil led a wonderful conversation with writer and Colony Fellow Ruth Reichl and New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik.

Jazz Conversations participants
Don Lucoff, Gary Giddins,
Bruce Lundvall, and Lois Gilbert