Hermitage to Receive $20,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
Sarasota, FL— National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has just approved more than $30 million in grants as part of the NEA’s first major funding announcement for fiscal year 2017. Included in this announcement is an Art Works Grant of $20,000 to the Hermitage Artist Retreat for artist sponsorship. These funds will help to support twelve artist residencies scheduled to arrive at the Hermitage during the first six months of 2017. The Art Works category focuses on the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and the strengthening of communities through the arts.
“We are so honored that the NEA has selected to fund the Hermitage with an Art Works Grant,” remarked Bruce. E. Rodgers, executive director. “The purpose of our artist residencies is to create art; our artists are of the highest caliber and our public programs allow the community to engage with the excellent art and artists that find their way to us, expanding the public’s interaction with art. It’s a great privilege to have what we do be recognized in this way and we are incredibly grateful to the NEA.”
The Hermitage Artist Retreat residencies being funded in part by the NEA Art Works Grant provide creative time and space to some of the most recognized artists working today in this country and abroad. Because Hermitage artists are invited by a prestigious curatorial council, as opposed to applying, the Hermitage is assured that the writers, visual artists, composers, etc., have already established themselves as significant creators. In addition to the time and space, the artists live within a small group who have already been vetted to be of the same artist caliber. Many times the artist interactions help them to move a project forward in a way they would not have imagined. Supporting an artist to come to the Hermitage costs the retreat approximately $5000. This grant will help to finance these important experiences.
“The arts are for all of us, and by supporting organizations such as the Hermitage, the National Endowment for the Arts is providing more opportunities for the public to engage with the arts,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “Whether in a theater, a town square, a museum, or a hospital, the arts are everywhere and make our lives richer.”
For more information on projects included in the NEA grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news. For more information on the Hermitage Artist Retreat, visit www.HermitageArtistRetreat.org.
