Spread over 450 acres in Peterborough, N.H., the MacDowell Colony's 32 studios house a variety of artists anywhere from two weeks to two months. Once they are chosen by a panel of their peers, residents live without television, Internet or telephones as they focus on their work.
Over 6,000 artists have lived at the retreat, including Leonard Bernstein, then a music director, Alvin Singleton, a classical music composer, and authors James Baldwin, Alice Walker and Michael Chabon.
Robert MacNeil, who was co-anchor and executive editor of the NewsHour until his retirement in October 1995, has been the MacDowell Colony's chairman of the board for 15 years. He led the festivities that marked the haven's centennial, and he answers your questions here: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/insider/july-dec07/macdowell_09-05.html.
