Chiwoniso Kaitano, executive director of MacDowell since 2023, discusses the oldest continuously operating artist residency in the United States in an ARTnews interview. She highlights MacDowell's 118-year history, its seven artistic disciplines, and its mission to provide a sanctuary for artists. Kaitano, who previously led arts education nonprofits Girl Be Heard and Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy, is working to raise MacDowell's profile and bring artist residencies back to the center of art world discourse.
This interview matters because Kaitano argues that residencies have been pushed to the fringes of the art sector, overshadowed by big galleries and museums, and that they are crucial for supporting artists in a time when art and culture face political attacks. Her perspective underscores the tension between commercial art industry priorities and the foundational creative spaces where art begins, making a case for re-centering residencies in the cultural ecosystem.