Opera, theater, and festival director Peter Sellars will introduce Edward MacDowell Medalist Toni Morrison at the MacDowell Colony’s Medal Day on Aug. 14. The free public ceremony will begin at 12:15 p.m. at the MacDowell Colony grounds at 100 High St. in Peterborough.
Sellars, who has gained international renown for his groundbreaking and transformative interpretations of artistic masterpieces, will offer context for Morrison’s choice as this year’s medalist. He has known the Nobel Prize- and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist for nearly two decades and worked with Morrison on “Desdemona,” their theater/concert collaboration. He’ll offer his unique perspective on Morrison’s creative genius before novelist and MacDowell Chairman Michael Chabon presents her with the 57th Edward MacDowell Medal.
The MacDowell Colony, one of the nation’s leading contemporary arts programs, has awarded the medal annually since 1960 to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to American culture. Past medal recipients include Aaron Copland, Robert Frost, Georgia O’Keeffe, John Updike, Joan Didion, Stephen Sondheim, Betye Saar, and Gunther Schuller.
Chabon will present the medal along with MacDowell Board President Susan Davenport Austin, Executive Director Cheryl Young and Resident Director David Macy.
Medal Day is the one day each year the Colony is open to the public. Guests can enjoy picnic lunches on Colony grounds by pre-ordering or bringing their own. Open studios hosted by MacDowell artists-in-residence begin at 2 p.m. and end at 5 p.m. There is no charge to attend Medal Day. More information can be found at www.macdowellcolony.org.