Chiwoniso “Chi” Kaitano isn’t an artist herself. But as the executive director of MacDowell, the artists’ residency that has operated in Peterborough since 1907, Kaitano supports some of the most skilled musicians, visual artists and writers in the world.
“It’s quite extraordinary that what began as a small farm in southern New Hampshire has had ripples all across the world. It would be rare to find a major museum, music venue, or bookstore that has been untouched by MacDowell,” says Kaitano, who took leadership of the organization in 2023. (She previously served as executive director of Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy in Brooklyn and, most recently, as executive director of Girl Be Heard, a global NGO that advocates for social change through performing arts and storytelling.)
And she’s not exaggerating. The artist’s residency has hosted household names ranging from James Baldwin and Ta-Nehisi Coates to Thornton Wilder, who wrote his iconic play “Our Town” while at MacDowell, and based the setting on Peterborough.
“This small place in New Hampshire has borne so much fruit that has impacted arts and culture around the world,” Kaitano says.
Generations of artists have benefited from the “deep isolation of the woods” at MacDowell. Now more than ever, proving space away from technology and the demands of the modern world is critical. “It’s really fundamental that artists have spaces [where] they can withdraw and have a distraction-free experience,” Kaitano says. Even today, internet service isn’t provided on campus.
On the other hand, MacDowell is a global leader in supporting artists and must operate in a modern, tech-driven world. MacDowell is halfway through a multi-year project to modernize the systems and software that keep it running. Recently, MacDowell has been taking steps to ensure the community is as inclusive as possible. The organization removed the word “colony” from its name in 2020. It does not require letters of recommendation as part of an artist’s application and is continuously re-evaluating needs-based stipends to ensure that costs are not a barrier for qualified artists.
“The question for our community,” Kaitano explains, “is [whether] MacDowell [is] allowing artists of all kinds to come and enjoy this finite and precious resource?”
