Established in 1907, MacDowell is a renowned artist residency program located in Peterborough, New Hampshire, offering a rural, serene, supportive environment for creative work. The residency promotes artistic freedom and encourages participation from a diverse range of artistic disciplines and voices. Artists are eligible to apply to MacDowell if they are generating original works of art, are at least 21 years of age and are not currently enrolled in a degree program (with the exception of ABD students). Applications are completed online and can be found through MacDowell's website. A complete application includes general information forms, a project proposal with work samples that demonstrate experience within the same discipline and genre as the proposed project, as well as five artistic achievements relevant to the applicants’ artistic career.
Applications for residencies from March 1 – August 31, 2027 will open on August 15, 2026. The deadline for accepting applications will be September 10, 2026. Please contact admissions@macdowell.org with any inquiry on the process.
Residency Eligibility
Residency Experience Summary
Application Information
MacDowell accepts applications from artists working in the following disciplines: architecture, film/video, interdisciplinary arts, literature, music composition, theatre, and visual arts. The sole criterion for acceptance is artistic excellence, which MacDowell defines in a pluralistic and inclusive way. MacDowell encourages applications from artists representing the widest possible range of perspectives and demographics, engaging in the broadest spectrum of artistic practice, and investigating an unlimited array of inquiries and concerns. To that end, MacDowell welcomes professional artists 21 + years of age working in all stages of their artistic practice to apply. Applicants cannot be enrolled in a degree-seeking program during the residency season for which they are applying. Doctoral candidates who have completed all coursework may apply.
There are no residency fees. Accepted artists are responsible for materials and travel expenses. Stipends and travel reimbursement grants are available to accepted artists based on demonstrated financial need. Please see Grant/Scholarship/Other Funding Support Details for more information.
There is no cost for a MacDowell Fellowship. To open the residency to the broadest possible community of artists, MacDowell offers financial assistance programs to those who have been awarded a Fellowship. These programs are intended to help with or cover the costs of traveling to and from MacDowell, as well as expenses that artists expect to incur while in residence, including rent, lost income, and childcare.
Artists may apply for stipends and travel grants only if they are awarded a MacDowell Fellowship; and funding is awarded based on demonstrated financial need. Applications for financial assistance, which are made available as part of the confirmation of acceptance to MacDowell, are kept confidential. Financial assistance funds are disbursed during or shortly after a residency. Artists of all disciplines are eligible to apply.