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NEW YORK CITY: Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Annie Baker has been awarded the first residency at the Accabonac House. The Long Island house is the former childhood home of Lisa de Kooning, and also served as the studio of her father, artist Willem de Kooning.
Accabonac House is a new year-round artists’ retreat, where writers, actors, directors, musicians, dancers, artists and filmmakers can work individually or collaboratively on their projects. Artists’ residencies last two weeks and include room, board and studio. Baker’s residency began in May.
Baker is also on the advisory board of the house, a board that includes Rachael Horovitz, Marsha Norman, Adam Rapp, Gina Gionfriddo, Neena Beber, Alex Kilgore Monica Bill Barnes, Laurie Beckelman, Paul Sparks, Annie Parisse, David Wilson Barnes, Gibby Haynes, Jim Tozzi, Isabel de Kooning Villeneuve, Emma de Kooning Villeneuve and Lucy de Kooning Villeneuve.
The house is dedicated to the memory of Lisa de Kooning. “Bill de Kooning once told me, ‘The arts feed each other,'” said artistic director Alex Kilgore in a statement. “That kept sticking in my head when I began to dream of what this place could be: a place for different disciplines to spark off each other…Lisa understood that continuity intuitively. She carried that torch. As an artist was a fierce defender of other artists. She was all about community.”