December 3, 2014
HERMITAGE ARTIST RETREAT RECEIVES
NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS GRANT
The Hermitage Artist Retreat is pleased to announce that it has received a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to fund five to eight environmental artists at the Hermitage. The program will be for a specified six-month time frame, where it is hoped each artist will be inspired by our Florida coastal hammock ecology and beautiful Gulf beach. While every fellow receives a bank of six weeks to use at the Hermitage over a two-year period, these artists will be required to use at least two of their weeks during the grant period of July 1 – December 31, 2015.
“We are very excited to receive NEA funding for this specific project,” commented Bruce E. Rodgers, executive director of the Hermitage. “We know all of our artists are inspired in our environment. This call for artists will be for those specifically working on environmental themes. We thought it was exciting and appropriate to see what happens for artists whose connection to nature is a driving force of their work.”
As with all Hermitage fellows, every artist will provide free outreach programs. Each will participate with the public at a Hermitage beachfront campus program or in collaboration with regional cultural organizations, libraries, or schools. Also planned is a free public forum on arts and the environment to be moderated by Dr. Meg Lowman, Chief of Science and Sustainability, California Academy of Sciences.
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Jane Chu announced the grant recipients on Tuesday, December 2nd.
“I’m pleased to be able to share the news of our support through Art Works including the award to The Hermitage Artist Retreat,” Chu said. “The arts foster value, connection, creativity and innovation for the American people and these recommended grants demonstrate those attributes and affirm that the arts are part of our everyday lives.”
“We are so honored to be selected for this funding,” continued Rodgers. “We are grateful to the NEA for their support of the Hermitage, as well as all the many arts organizations nationwide that need the support to continue their important work.”
Art Works grants support the creation of art, public engagement with art, lifelong learning in the arts, and enhancement of the livability of communities through the arts. The NEA received 1,474 eligible applications under the Art Works category, requesting more than $75 million in funding. Of those applications, 919 are recommended for grants for a total of $26.6 million. For a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, please visit the NEA website at arts.gov. Follow the conversation about this and other NEA‐funded projects on Twitter at #NEAFall2014.
The Hermitage is a not-for-profit artist retreat located at 6660 Manasota Key Road in Englewood, FL. It invites accomplished painters, sculptors, writers, playwrights, poets, composers and other artists from all over the world for residencies on its beachfront historic campus. Artists are asked to contribute two services to the community during their stay and as a result, Hermitage artists touch thousands of Gulf Coast community residents with unique and inspiring programs each year. In addition, the Hermitage awards and administers the prestigious Greenfield Prize, an annual $30,000 commission for a new work of art, rotating among three disciplines: visual art, music and drama. The Hermitage also partners with the Aspen Music Festival and School to award the annual Hermitage Prize to a composition student during the Festival. For more information about The Hermitage Artist Retreat, call 941-475-2098 or visit the website at www.HermitageArtistRetreat.org.
