MacDowell Colony - Annual Medal Day

The MacDowell Colony is an artists' colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire, United States, founded in 1907 by Marian MacDowell, pianist and wife of composer Edward MacDowell. She established the institution and its endowment chiefly with donated funds. She led the colony for almost 25 years, against a background of two world wars, the Great Depression, and other challenges.
The mission of The MacDowell Colony is to nurture the arts by offering creative individuals of the highest talent an inspiring environment in which they can produce enduring works of the imagination.
Over the years, an estimated 7,700 artists have been supported in residence, including the winners of at least 79 Pulitzer Prizes, 781 Guggenheim Fellowships, 100 Rome Prizes, 30 National Book Awards, 26 Tony Awards, 24 MacArthur Fellowships, 9 Grammys, 8 Oscars, and 8 National Medals for the Arts.[3] The colony has accepted visual and interdisciplinary artists, architects, filmmakers, composers, playwrights, poets, and writers, both well-known and unknown - Wikipedia
Once a year the colony awards the Edward MacDowell Medal to one person who has made an outstanding contribution to American culture and the arts. These photos were taken when the award was given to jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins  on August 15, 2010. The event is called Medal Day and is the only day in the year that the public is invited to visit the artists studios.

Examples of the various cabins at the colony. Artists work in private, lunch is delivered to the cabins and dropped off in picnic baskets. Dinner is a communal meal. 
Medal awardee Sonny Rollins signs an autograph



Picnic lunch on Medal Day

I opted to not buy lunch which usually is pretty expensive


In the communal dining area, artists tag their liquors and wines

Main building

Nice organic garden with oyster shell paths. They have chickens too

Some smooth jazz

A visual artist explains her craft


Outside amphitheater with a view of Mount Monadanock (left out of frame)
Nice working place with great light


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