April 30, 2014
Contact Lisa Rubinstein, LDR Creative, Inc., 941-373-3803 or [email protected]
HERMITAGE ANNOUNCES FLORIDA HUMANITIES RESIDENCY
The Hermitage Artist Retreat is pleased to announce an important new partnership with the Florida Humanities Council (FHC) that will support and celebrate the work of Florida writers. This partnership is in the form of an award called the Florida Humanities Residency. The award is a six-week residency at the Hermitage for the winner of FHC’s Florida Lifetime Achievement Award for Writing. The first recipient of the Florida Humanities Residency is Enid Shomer, winner of the 2013 Florida Lifetime Achievement Award.
“We are very pleased to announce this special residency and partnership,” explained Bruce E. Rodgers, executive director of the Hermitage. “FHC was looking for a way to enhance the award given to writers who were acknowledged for their lifetime achievements. We were honored that they felt a Hermitage residency would be an ideal way to further recognize their special talents and contributions.”
A poet and fiction writer, Shomer is the author of four books of poetry and three of fiction, most recently the novel The Twelve Rooms of the Nile. Her work has been collected in more than fifty anthologies and textbooks, including POETRY: A Harper Collins Pocket Anthology, Best American Poetry, and New Stories from the South: The Year’s Best. Two of her books, Stars at Noon (poetry) and Imaginary Men (short fiction), were the subject of feature interviews on NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered.
“The Florida Humanities Council is thrilled to provide Enid Shomer and other winners of our Florida Lifetime Achievement Award for Writing with the opportunity to join the creative community of national artists assembled at The Hermitage,” commented Janine Farver, executive director for the FHC. “We know that this residency in one of Florida’s most spectacular settings will inspire literary endeavors that re-imagine our state and create a deeper sense of place.”
Bruce Rodgers continued, “We look forward to having Enid with us and sharing her with the community, as we schedule her free community programs. Special thanks to Andy Maass, a member of FHC’s and the Hermitage’s Board of Trustees and Janine Farver, who were both instrumental in creating this partnership.”
In addition to its artist residencies, which are given by invitation only, the Hermitage has created partnerships with local, regional and national organizations to be able to bring other mid-career artists to the Hermitage. Among the organizations are the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County, Florida Alliance for Arts Education, Aspen Music Festival and School and the Greenfield Foundation. Discussions are underway to create more collaborations with groups whose top-tier artists would also benefit from a Hermitage experience.
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.
The Florida Humanities Council is dedicated to building strong communities and informed citizens by providing Floridians with the opportunity to explore the heritage, traditions and stories of our state and its place in the world.
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