The MacDowell Colony
November 14, 2005 10:44 AM Subscribe
"The spiritual, physical, intellectual, social or economic well-being of the general public". Within the MacDowell Colony's rustic stone and clapboard cottages, Thornton Wilder wrote Our Town, Aaron Copland composed Appalachian Spring and Dubose and Dorothy Heyward wrote Porgy and Bess. Jonathan Franzen finished writing The Corrections and Alice Sebold worked on The Lovely Bones. For decades, the town considered the colony a tax-exempt charitable organization. Not anymore.
posted by matteo at 10:45 AM on November 14, 2005
And Richard Price wrote The Breaks there. (although that book contains a darkly hilarious anecdote about an artists colony, so one can't help but wonder how it worked out for him).
posted by jonmc at 10:48 AM on November 14, 2005
posted by jonmc at 10:48 AM on November 14, 2005
The benefits go to society in general, which gains from the creation of art, and of course the artists who get paid for their creations. All wonderful, but it doesn't explain why their immediate neighbors are expected to be the only ones to pay for the colony's services.
The good is general, the burden is local. In effect the colony is expecting enforced contributions from its neighbors to save it from having to do more general fundraising.
posted by Quinbus Flestrin at 11:33 AM on November 14, 2005
The good is general, the burden is local. In effect the colony is expecting enforced contributions from its neighbors to save it from having to do more general fundraising.
posted by Quinbus Flestrin at 11:33 AM on November 14, 2005
My girl Marcy, who went to MacDowell before writing Twins, says that the artists do a lot of local work for the community. The article mentions this, too: "the colony already provides programs worth more than what the town asked for, including workshops in the schools and monthly discussions led by the artists-in-residence." In short: this sucks.
posted by muckster at 1:21 PM on November 14, 2005
posted by muckster at 1:21 PM on November 14, 2005
Both sides have good arguments, but since our country is capitalistic, you have to pay for everything. It won't stop or shut down the colony, the organization will just have to work a little harder or expect their clients to donate a little more.
posted by cleverusername at 1:40 PM on November 14, 2005
posted by cleverusername at 1:40 PM on November 14, 2005
Ah, tax-free New Hampster! When the only place you can get any revenue (besides an 8% meals tax and tolls from folks driving to Maine) is property taxes, this kind of thing happens.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:21 PM on November 14, 2005
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:21 PM on November 14, 2005
random: matteo, you don't happen to live near lowell, do you?
(good post)
posted by es_de_bah at 8:10 PM on November 14, 2005
(good post)
posted by es_de_bah at 8:10 PM on November 14, 2005
no, unfortunately I don't, I just visited once a few years ago.
and, thanks.
posted by matteo at 6:38 AM on November 15, 2005
and, thanks.
posted by matteo at 6:38 AM on November 15, 2005
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