Filmmaker Ava DuVernay, her company honoured by MacDowell

NEW YORK — Filmmaker Ava DuVernay will be honoured next month by MacDowell, which is presenting its inaugural Marian MacDowell Arts Advocacy Award to her media company and arts collective ARRAY.

The award is named for the co-founder of MacDowell, the century-old artist residency in Peterborough, New Hampshire, where James Baldwin, Leonard Bernstein and many others have been visiting fellows. DuVernay, known for such acclaimed movies as “Selma” and “13th," founded ARRAY in 2012 as a way of amplifying the work of women and people of colour.

“I am touched that our narrative change collective ARRAY, which is built upon a mission to articulate and amplify stories from the widest range of art makers, is being honoured in Ms. MacDowell’s name,” DuVernay said in a statement Sunday. "I look forward to cultivating a partnership between ARRAY and MacDowell to enable more artists of colour, specifically women, to be a part of the residency program in coming years.”

MacDowell will host a virtual ceremony on Oct. 19. Actress and former chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, Jane Alexander, will present the award.

The Associated Press