The Department of Film is delighted to participate in the centennial celebration of The MacDowell Colony, the oldest artists residency program in the United States, by helping to create a touring film and media series. These twenty-six film and video works were selected from a general call for submissions of work created by MacDowell film artists since 1971, when those working in moving images were first invited to become Fellows at the Colony. The selection criteria are, foremost, excellence and originality. But the Fellows were also asked to submit works that reflect—however tangentially—their experience at one of MacDowell’s studio habitats. Hence, these works illuminate the extraordinary range of artists that the Colony has attracted and supported over the years as well as the stunning breadth and variety of work with roots at MacDowell. The series represents MacDowell media artists, twenty-eight altogether, as widely as possible with respect to genre, form, and format, and presents the world premiere of a newly commissioned film, Seasons of MacDowell. The MoMA presentation and subsequent tour are part of a yearlong, nationwide celebration of the dynamic interchange between artists of all disciplines creating work in MacDowell’s studios in the woods of Peterborough, New Hampshire. All works from the U.S. unless otherwise indicated.
Organized for the Museum by Jytte Jensen, Curator, Department of Film.
Programs selected with Elaine Charnov, Director, Public Programs/Education and Artistic Director, Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival, American Museum of Natural History; and producer, writer, and filmmaker Tania Cypriano.
Prints courtesy of New Yorker Films and Miramax.