Peter F McDowell Pro

Peter McDowell is a fundraising and communications executive and creator with more than two decades of experience leading and serving nonprofit organizations at the highest level. He is also a documentary filmmaker -- his full-length feature, Jimmy in Saigon premiered in March 2022 at the British Film Institute's Flare Festival in London. appeared at 40 festivals worldwide, and won 16 awards. Besides filmmaking, his arts management specialities include individual, foundation and corporate giving; executive leadership; staff management; and marketing/PR. He has held leadership positions at OPERA America, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, GRAMMY-winning ensemble Eighth Blackbird, and American Friends of the Louvre. His firm, Peter McDowell Arts Consulting, offers a wide range of strategic career services for performing artists. As a publicist, Peter has garnered press coverage for his clients in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, the New Yorker, and many other important outlets.

Peter is in demand as a speaker and workshop leader on diverse topics in career development and arts entrepreneurship. He has been an invited presenter at the Manhattan School of Music, Northwestern School of Music, Eastman School of Music, Chicago College for the Performing Arts, Chamber Music America, and the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP). Peter was selected as a 2016-18 International Fellow at the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the University of Maryland.