Chiwoniso Kaitano, who has served as executive director of MacDowell since 2023, is leading a mission to restore artist residencies to the center of America's cultural conversation. As head of the oldest continuously operating artist residency program in the United States, Kaitano believes these creative sanctuaries have been unfairly pushed to the margins of the art world, despite their crucial role in nurturing artistic talent.
MacDowell, founded in 1907 by pianists and composers Edward and Marian MacDowell, operates on a 500-acre wooded campus in Peterborough, southern New Hampshire. The organization offers residencies lasting two to eight weeks across seven artistic disciplines: architecture, film and video, interdisciplinary arts, literature, music composition, theater, and visual arts. Each year, MacDowell awards approximately 300 fellowships to artists seeking what the organization describes as "an inspiring residential environment in which to produce enduring works of the creative imagination."
Before joining MacDowell, Kaitano brought diverse experience from leading arts education nonprofits, including Girl Be Heard, a global NGO, and Brooklyn's Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy. Her background also includes human rights law, a decade in technology and software, and work as a junior advocate at Human Rights Watch. This varied career path has given her fresh perspective on the artist support sector.
Over her two years at MacDowell's helm, Kaitano has focused on raising the organization's profile within the broader art sector. She expressed concern that while major galleries and museums dominate cultural discourse, residency programs like MacDowell – where artistic creation actually begins – have been relegated to the periphery. "The big galleries and the big museums are the conversation now," Kaitano explained. "The industry is really driving the direction and pace of creation for artists. Somehow in that whole mix, the place where art begins, which is the residency, has been relegated to the fringe of the ecosystem."
The challenges facing arts organizations have intensified in recent years, according to Kaitano. Beyond traditional funding struggles, she points to what she calls "active deactivation" of federal arts funding and increasing censorship of artistic expression. She cited artist Amy Sherald's decision to cancel her exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery as an example of how political pressures are affecting the art world. "I thought that was extraordinarily courageous of her, and maybe a symbol of how individual artists and institutional organizations like ours need to be acting and reacting in this space," Kaitano said.
Despite these challenges, Kaitano firmly believes artist residencies remain more relevant than ever. MacDowell's formula of providing "time, space, and freedom to create" continues to prove effective after nearly 125 years of operation. The organization's track record includes residents who have gone on to receive Pulitzer Prizes, Academy Awards, Guggenheim Fellowships, and Grammy Awards, demonstrating the lasting impact of the residency experience.
The rural New Hampshire setting plays a crucial role in MacDowell's approach. While urban residencies exist in cities like Brooklyn, Kaitano emphasizes the unique value of MacDowell's distraction-free woodland environment. "The difference with MacDowell, which is 500 acres in the woods of Southern New Hampshire, is that there is this distraction-free component," she explained. Artists can escape their daily responsibilities – day jobs, city life, grocery shopping – to focus entirely on their creative work in private studios surrounded by nature.
Kaitano's vision extends beyond MacDowell's individual mission to encompass broader arts advocacy. She believes the United States has fallen behind other countries, particularly in Europe, in educating the public about art's importance in creating healthy, functioning societies. "Some of the challenges we see now in the arts ecosystem – defunding, the lack of resources, artists struggling – is because we haven't done enough to educate our public and audiences about the importance of art," she noted.
The recent cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) have directly impacted MacDowell and similar organizations. Like many arts institutions, MacDowell received a termination letter for its NEA grant. While the organization was fortunate that federal funding represented only a small portion of its budget, and generous supporters helped fill the gap, Kaitano expressed concern for smaller organizations more severely affected by these cuts.
Looking forward, Kaitano sees MacDowell's role as extending beyond its own operations to supporting the broader artist residency community. As a legacy organization with nearly 125 years of experience, she believes MacDowell has a responsibility to help other arts organizations navigate current challenges and thrive despite political and cultural pressures. "There is power in numbers, and I think organizations like MacDowell do have a responsibility to lead in this moment and help and support them," she concluded.
