Out & About
MacDOWELL COLONY
New Yorkers are in for a treat in 2007: In honor of its centennial, the MacDowell Colony, that idyllic retreat for artists in Peterborough, N.H., has scheduled dozens of celebratory events in New York City. Past fellows will gather for a picnic in Central Park; the film "MacDowell Seasons" has its premiere at the Museum of Modern Art, featuring work by fellow David Petersen, and four events featuring fellows' work will take place at Symphony Space. The new year also brings a new book, "A Place for the Arts: The MacDowell Colony, 1907-2007," edited by the colony's president, Carter Wiseman, with essays by Joan Acocella, Vartan Gregorian, and Wendy Wasserstein among others.
The sense of anticipation was great at the colony's annual fund-raiser earlier this month, a kick-off titled "100 Years of Giving Artists Freedom To Create," put together by gala chairwomen Ruth Feder and Helen Tucker. Past president Thomas Putnam gave brief mention of the colony's $35 million capital campaign, currently in a quiet phase. So far, $7 million has been raised so far to build the endowment, renovate the kitchen, and maintain the artists' studios, where, according to the lyrics of a comical song performed at the event, Charles Dickens wrote "Oliver Twist" and God wrote the bible.
There are many good causes to support as the year comes to a close. In the spirit of the holiday season, The New York Sun has compiled a few suggestions for charitable gifts, among them the famed lunch baskets MacDowell fellows receive daily.
