MacDowell, the nation's oldest artist residency and the blueprint by which scores of artist communities worldwide have been modeled, is taking steps to attaining carbon neutrality by 2035 on its 450-acre wooded campus. Since founding in 1907, MacDowell has hosted over 9,000 artists including 2,233 visual artists, nurtured the works of art luminaries such as Benny Andrews, Faith Ringgold, Janet Fish, and Aaron Copland. MacDowell has also been a launchpad for accolades including eight National Medal of Arts, thirty-four MacArthur Fellowships, 126 Rome Prizes, and itself was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1997. The campus today encompasses thirty-one artist studios, ten of which are designated for visual artists, and shared space like the James Baldwin Library.

MacDowell strives to serve as a model for energy conservation and land stewardship and installed two ground-mount solar arrays in 2016 and 2019 and continues to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources across the studios, the first conversion taking place back in 2008. A 2022 FCI Implementation Grant funded the conversion from fossil fuels to electric by replacing the boilers with heat pumps powered by existing solar arrays in three visual art studios including the Alexander Studio. The 2024 Implementation Grant will fund the installation of triple-paned windows and new insulation in the Alexander Studio, one of the campus’ oldest and most revered visual arts studios. Securing the building’s envelope is critical given that winter temperatures in New England can drop to -20 degrees. This is part of a deep-energy retrofit of the Alexander Studio’s building envelope which will lead to an estimated 85 percent reduction in energy usage and 71 percent reduction in energy costs.