Latest news with #MacDowell
New York Times
25-04-2025
- New York Times
Getaways to Nurture Your Artistic Side, Even if You're Not an Artist
Many professional writers and artists dream of being chosen for a prestigious residency like Yaddo, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., or MacDowell in Peterborough, N.H. But even amateurs can benefit from the intense concentration a residency allows. For them, select programs offer the opportunity to pay their own way for a few days or even weeks, sometimes at affordable rates, to create art. 'A lot of people don't realize that they can do residencies and not be someone who has chosen art as their career, or music or dance,' said Alicia Toldi, 34, an artist living in Paonia, Colo. Together with Carolina Porras-Monroy, a collaborator she met during a formative residency, Ms. Toldi has documented American residency programs in five regional editions of 'Piney Wood Atlas.' Residencies offer participants an environment for production as well as reflection, Ms. Toldi said. They provide chances to try new methods that can foster creative growth in ways that spa, yoga or wellness-related tourism do not. To attend, a brief application is often required, sometimes months in advance. Prospective participants should consider the resources and amenities they will need. Many programs include meals and room cleaning to maximize creative time. In return, participants should expect limitations: Some programs have rules about quiet hours, screen time and alcohol. The Brooklyn-based author Christene Barberich, 56, recently designed her own writing retreat to work on a book proposal, an initiative she wrote about in her newsletter, A Tiny Apt. After having created a few such itineraries, Ms. Barberich has a few productive guidelines for herself: plan a minimum of one day; limit interruptions, including time spent on social media; pack inspirational material; resist the urge to go with a friend. Most importantly: Establish what you want to get out of the time, and be disciplined with yourself. Here, some places to get away where the muse is encouraged to strike. Good for groups A 400-year-old chateau is on offer for team retreats and self-organized festivals outside of Paris at Château du Feÿ, which targets an activist and engineer crowd in addition to artists. When it isn't hosting workshops (December through May), Château du Feÿ turns its event space over to everyone from techno-utopians for their annual foresight weekend to a conference of representatives of French eco-villages. 'Our goal is always to provide a space that encourages creativity — unlike a typical cold and rigid chateau,' said Agathe Simonin, who works on the Château du Feÿ events team. Past visitors have created site-specific work in the woodlands using lasers and choreography. It was here that artists prototyped the Sonic Sphere, a spherical concert hall designed for immersive music and sound art. The geodesic installation was inspired by the vision of Karlheinz Stockhausen, an avant-garde composer and father of electronic music who built a spherical auditorium for the 1970 World Expo in Osaka. The sphere made at Château du Feÿ traveled the world in recent years, including a 2023 stint at the Shed in Manhattan. Conveners are in charge of programming their time on the 103-acre property. Participants can stay in 28 bedrooms (weeknight accommodations for groups up to 30 start at 6,600 euros per night, about $6,940; glamping tents are available for €150 each per night). In between events, participants can forage, go on nature walks and learn about permaculture. On a smaller scale, Mesa Refuge in Northern California offers space for up to six people to host their own writing retreats, with the nearby Point Reyes National Seashore serving as a local source of inspiration. For two weeks in December and a few additional weeks throughout the year, groups of writers or a family can make use of the three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom house with two writing sheds in the garden ($5,245 for seven nights). Kamala Tully, the executive director of Mesa Refuge, described the refuge's creative energy as 'strong and unique for writers focused on climate, economic equity and social justice.' Terry Tempest Williams, Robin Wall Kimmerer and Rebecca Solnit have all been in residence. When the space is not booked for self-organized retreats, individuals participate through grant-supported invitational residencies or alumni weeks, or they can apply for their own retreats. 'Knowing that all these writers and activists have been here before them is a great motivator and source of inspiration,' Ms. Tully said. Self-structured residencies Need more solitude? People keen to go on a solo retreat may be wooed by experimental living spaces in Joshua Tree, Calif. Participants can stay up to four weeks at High Desert Test Sites, an arts nonprofit, alongside outdoor installations and artworks (prices start at $600 for seven nights in a guest cabin). The group's Desert Research Library, which is building a collective history of the region through its multimedia collection, is accessible to residents, and experienced artists can take advantage of a woodshop and weaving and ceramics studios. 'The site offers a much deeper engagement with site-specific art and the surrounding landscape than a retreat or staycation would,' said Aida Lizalde, one of the program's coordinators. In northern Pennsylvania, Bischoff Inn offers low-cost 'micro-residencies' ($350 per week in winter and spring or $375 in summer, with a $50 fee to bring a partner or child). The pricing is emblematic of a type of hosting that seeks little or no profit, focusing instead on encouraging new creative work, or even just letting participants rest. 'Our typical artist-in-residence is someone who has a busy life — day job, kids — and cannot take a month off of work and domestic duties to attend a residency or, frankly, cannot afford to,' said Maria Stabio, owner of the inn, which is in Tamaqua, Pa. Educators and academics have used their school breaks to join the more than 80 artists who have spent retreat weeks there since January 2024. On the West Coast, Sou'wester on Washington's Long Beach Peninsula promises space for deeply focused and self-directed time, including for craftspeople and musicians (rates to stay in one of 30 vintage travel trailers range from $275 to $500 per week). Fixed date retreats Many programs bring together people who are looking to connect with others practicing the same craft. Participants have left these and other retreats and residencies with manuscripts that were later published, ideas for films that are now in production and, perhaps most important, informal support networks. For fiction and memoir writers seeking feedback, the annual Sirenland Writers Conference includes coaching and craft talks in Positano, Italy ($6,750 for six nights' accommodations plus meals, coaching and workshops). The conference is hosted by authors including Dani Shapiro, and applications open in September for next year's gathering. For an off-the-grid option, residencies at the Sable Project in Stockbridge, Vt., are scheduled at fixed windows throughout the summer and into September ($50 a night for two- to five-day guest artist residencies, up to $500 for 10-day summer residencies). While in the Green Mountains, artists working in a range of disciplines cook family-style dinners for their 10- to 12-member cohort. They sleep in tents and forgo electricity for the duration of their stay. As with many programs that host artist talks and public performances for local community members, the Sable Project features Food and Art Fridays throughout the summer. In Labastide-Esparbairenque in southern France, La Muse Artist and Writers Retreat features programming that includes creative hiking (early August) and an 'expressive pages' workshop facilitated by the poet and circus performer Jenny Hill (late October; accommodations range from €575 to €965 plus a €250 workshop fee). 'Everyone lives at their own pace, apart from the workshops and evening meals, often followed by readings and singing,' said Alain Brichau, a former resident turned owner. 'After all, in France, everything ends with songs.' For more options, the Artist Communities Alliance, an association of artist residencies, has a residency profile tool to compare programs. Another site, the Res Artis network, lets users filter more than 600 programs around the world.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Residents trying to save ‘Wally the Beaver' in Kingstowne Lake
KINGSTOWNE, Va. () — A drive is underway to save an animal that resides at Kingstowne Lake. 'Wally is, we think, a wonderful addition,' said Peter MacDowell as he talked about 'Wally the Beaver.' Five years since first COVID-19 cases in Montgomery County However, the Kingstowne Residential Owners Corporation (KROC), which owns the lake, feels differently. It's set up an underwater trap to catch Wally to get rid of him once and for all. 'People can coexist with beavers, beavers can coexist with us,' MacDowell said. He is part of the Friends of Kingstowne Lake, which organized the petition to save the animal. 'He'll be swimming by the pool tug on the branch,' MacDowell said. 'And, if he gets nervous, he'll flap his is big tail with a big flap with his warning sign.' Wally is typically seen around dawn and dusk. 'Wally is a creature just like us,' said Andrew Berman, another member of the group trying to save the animal. 'And he just came here to make a home around September.' KROC said in an email that an inspection on Tuesday found 60 trees were either chewed down or chewed on by a beaver. 'While we respect and appreciate local wildlife, this activity poses risks to our stormwater infrastructure and the surrounding landscape,' KROC said in its statement. Arlington's Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall holding Veterans Job Fair 'Killing Wally just because he chews juice and saplings down does not seem to me – does not seem to us – to be, equitable,' MacDowell said. Supporters of the beaver want the trees protected instead of having Wally killed and having him moved elsewhere once he's caught. Unfortunately, the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources does not allow that. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Independent
26-01-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Andie MacDowell says she's experiencing ‘reverse nepotism' thanks to her daughter
Andie MacDowell has joked that she is experiencing 'reverse nepotism' thanks to the success of her daughter, Margaret Qualley. MacDowell, a star of 1990s comedies such as Four Weddings and a Funeral and Groundhog Day, has seen Qualley, 30, rise through the ranks in Hollywood, having most recently won praise for her performance in The Substance. The extreme body horror movie sees Qualley play a younger doppelganger of Demi Moore's character, who takes a black market drug in an attempt to revive her career. The film recently received five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Moore. Speaking recently on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, MacDowell praised her daughter, saying: 'She's crushing it.' The 66-year-old added: 'She's great, so good in The Substance, and the movie is fantastic. And she takes so many chances, she's so much braver than I could have ever been. She really carved her own road, I'm super proud of her.' MacDowell then joked that she's experiencing 'reverse nepotism' adding: 'They always accuse the children of [nepotism], but I'm now cool because I'm Margaret Qualley's mom and also, I'm Jack Antonoff 's mother-in-law, so it's a double-whammy.' Qualley first began starring in films in 2013, making her debut in the Gia Coppola drama Palo Alto and then alongside Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe in The Nice Guys. She also starred in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood and the Yorgos Lanthimos films Poor Things and Kinds of Kindness. She also starred in the Netflix series Maid, where she and MacDowell played mother and daughter. MacDowell's eldest daughter Rainey, 35, is also in the entertainment business, having released several songs and starred in movies such as Ocean's Eight and Shut In. Elsewhere, MacDowell gave an update on her physical health during a 23 January appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show. 'I have piriformis syndrome,' the Green Card star revealed. Piriformis syndrome is a rare neuromuscular condition that causes pain and numbness in the butt and back of the legs. According to the American Osteopathic Association, piriformis syndrome affects about 200,000 people in the US each year. 'So it's a muscle that kind of clamps down on my sciatic nerve, and it was shooting down my leg,' MacDowell explained. 'I thought I was gonna have to have a hip replacement,' she added before admitting she continued to ride her indoor bike machine 'like a crazy person' at first. 'It's not appropriate for my body, and I ended up with bad knees and a bad hip. I thought I was literally falling apart,' the actor said.
