MacDowell, a prestigious artists’ residency program in New Hampshire, announced on Friday that Chiwoniso Kaitano would be its next executive director. The appointment of Kaitano, who was previously the executive director of Girl Be Heard and the Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy, is part of the program’s push toward greater diversity and equity.
Among her responsibilities, Kaitano will focus on identifying voices from traditionally underrepresented groups — including Indigenous, Black and Latino artists, as well as artists with disabilities — and intensifying outreach to those communities.
Kaitano, who starts on March 13, is taking over from Philip Himberg, who retired in December after three and a half years in the role. Kaitano is the 10th director at MacDowell and the first person of color to serve as its executive director.
“The change in MacDowell’s leadership follows an intense period of inquiry and innovation throughout the pandemic and recent social justice movements,” the program said in a statement.
MacDowell, which was founded in 1907 as the MacDowell Colony by the composer Edward MacDowell and the pianist Marian MacDowell, dropped “Colony” from its name in July 2020. Staff members petitioned for the change, the institution said, in part because of the word’s “oppressive overtones.”
Kaitano, originally from Zimbabwe, spent the past four years leading Girl Be Heard, a global nonprofit organization that champions social change through performing arts and storytelling. She said she wanted to move MacDowell forward by helping artists from all backgrounds feel that it is a place where they can thrive.
“I think in the big community of artists, there might be a perception that MacDowell isn’t for them,” she said. “And one of the things I really want to do, and the charge I’ve been given, is to keep evolving our big tent.”
Along with her experience working with marginalized groups, Kaitano “brings a deep understanding of the financial challenges facing all arts organizations today in the wake of the pandemic,” the author and artist Nell Painter, a three-time MacDowell fellow and the chair of its board of directors, said in a statement.
Every year, MacDowell welcomes hundreds of architects, composers, filmmakers, interdisciplinary artists, theater artists, visual artists and writers from across the world. Participants have included James Baldwin, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Meredith Monk, Leonard Bernstein, Cathy Park Hong, Ann Patchett and Colson Whitehead. Those who have been part of the program have earned accolades including 99 Pulitzer Prizes, 33 National Book Awards and 31 Tony Awards.
“We’re on a journey just to keep evolving and keep standing up and supporting artists everywhere,” Kaitano said.
