The Hermitage Artist Retreat today announced new programs in February and March of 2026, spanning Lee County up through Manatee County and including a return to the Hermitage Beach in Sarasota County. Newly announced events include award-winning poet, writer, and author jessica Care moore and Obie Award winner James Jackson, Jr. for a special Black History Month program on February 26th on the Hermitage Beach; returning Hermitage Fellow and multihyphenate actor-singer-writer Lauren Marcus and Tony Award-nominated playwright Joe Iconis for a memorable evening of music on March 16th at the Manatee Performing Arts Center in Bradenton; and Joe Iconis and Lauren Marcus will again split the bill for a beachside program at the Gasparilla Light House – Range Light in Boca Grande on March 20th.
On Thursday, February 26th at 5:30pm, the Hermitage will present a special Black History Month program featuring Hermitage Fellows jessica Care moore and James Jackson, Jr. Jessica Care moore has recorded her poetry with hip-hop legends like Common, Nas, Jeezy, Talib Kweli, and others. Moore launched into national attention in the 90s when she won the legendary “It’s Showtime at the Apollo” competition a record-breaking five times in a row – with a poem. She is the current Detroit Poet Laureate and the author of five collections of poetry. James Jackson, Jr. is a seasoned Broadway, Off-Broadway, and cabaret performer who has also graced the stages of Radio City Music Hall and Carnegie Hall. Celebrated for his roles in Hermitage Fellow Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning A Strange Loop and White Girl in Danger – developed in part at the Hermitage – Jackson also created the popular “Juneteenth Cabaret” in Provincetown to celebrate the history of Black performers in the city. These two incredible performers will share their talents on the Hermitage Beach with “Speak theWord and Lift Every Voice” – a program celebrating Black culture and identity on the Hermitage Beach. This event is being presented in partnership with Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe.
On Monday, March 16th at 6pm, audiences will have an opportunity to return to the Manatee Performing Arts Center in Bradenton for “Joe & Lauren Make Cool Music at MPAC.” The iconic Joe Iconis and the marvelous Lauren Marcus are partners in art and life. Iconis wrote the hit score for Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical Be More Chill, the show where Marcus made her Broadway debut. A celebrated writer and composer, Iconis is recognized as a leading voice in the world of contemporary musical theater, with works spanning Broadway, Off-Broadway, and theaters across the globe. He regularly performs concerts with Marcus and other frequent collaborators as “Joe Iconis & Family” at venues throughout New York. Marcus is a beloved Hermitage artist and performer in her own right – actor, writer, and singer-songwriter are all hats she comfortably and regularly shifts between. Together, they are a New York theater power-couple who will share original work during this memorable evening of music. This program is made possible with the support of the Bishop-Parker Foundation and is presented in partnership with the Manatee Performing Arts Center (MPAC).
On Friday, March 20th at 6:30pm, the Hermitage will present“Joe & Lauren: Making Music in Boca Grande.”The New York theatre power-couple heads south for a beachside program at the Gasparilla Light House – Range Light on Boca Grande as the sun sets over the Gulf. This event is presented in partnership with the Barrier Island Parks Society (BIPS).
These Hermitage programs are free and open to the public (with a $5/person registration fee), offering Gulf Coast audiences a rare chance to engage and interact with some of the world’s leading talent. Running time for most Hermitage programs is 60-70 minutes with no intermission. Due to capacity limitations, registration is required at HermitageArtistRetreat.org.
The Hermitage Artist Retreat (Andy Sandberg, Artistic Director and CEO), in collaboration with the Philadelphia-based Greenfield Foundation, has announced visual artist Charisse Pearlina Weston as the winner of the 2026 Hermitage Greenfield Prize (HGP). Her recent exhibits include group and solo presentations at the Whitney Museum of American Art, MOMA PS1, SITE Santa Fe and the Queens Museum, among other venues. Weston was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation in 2025.
The Hermitage Greenfield Prize is awarded annually, rotating between the fields of visual art, music, and theater. Weston will receive a six-week Hermitage Fellowship and a $35,000 commission to create a new work or collection of art, which will have its premiere exhibition in Sarasota in 2028.
Weston was selected by a distinguished jury that included Ian Alteveer, Beal Family Chair of Contemporary Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Alison Gass, Founding Executive Director of the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco; and Larry Ossei-Mensah, independent curator and co-founder of ARTNOIR, a nonprofit supporting artists, curators, cultural workers, and emerging patrons. Past winners of this distinguished honor in the discipline of visual art include Sandy Rodriguez (2023), David Burnett(2017), Coco Fusco (2016), Trenton Doyle Hancock (2013), and Sanford Biggers (2010), who is now a member of the Hermitage Curatorial Council.
“Amidst a remarkable field of four brilliant finalists, this insightful jury faced the difficult task of selecting a single recipient. Charisse Pearlina Weston emerged as a thoughtful and original artist who impressed the jury with her inspired and ambitious proposal,” says Hermitage Artistic Director Andy Sandberg. “Her innovative work with glass offers a unique lens into life and culture. Charisse’s multifaceted and thoughtful approach to her work embodies the mission of the Hermitage Greenfield Prize: to bring into the world works of art that have a significant impact on the broad as well as the artistic culture of our society. We thank our distinguished jurors for their passion and dedication, and we congratulate all four exceptional finalists, whom we look forward to welcoming at the Hermitage. We’re excited to host Charisse in Florida for the Hermitage Greenfield Prize Dinner in April, and subsequently as a Hermitage Fellow in anticipation of the premiere of her new exhibition in Sarasota in 2028.”
Charisse Pearlina Weston,born in Houston and now based in Harlem, is a conceptual artist whose work contends with the dynamic interplay of violence and intimacy through repetition, enfoldment, and concealment. She works across sculpture, writing, installation, and photography. Weston often integrates glass into her work due to its inherent nature. Whether it be through photographs, fragments incorporated into a canvas, or an element within a sculpture, the duality of the material speaks to Weston’s understanding of Black resistance. Her recent exhibitions include group and solo presentations at the Whitney Museum of American Art, MOMA PS1, SITE Santa Fe, and the Queens Museum, among other venues. Recent fellowships and residencies include the Studio Museum, Harlem Artist in Residency, Jerome Hill Fellowship, Hodder Fellowship at the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University, a 2025 Guggenheim Fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation, and a 2025 Stepping Stone awardee from the Trellis Foundation. Weston received a BA from the University of North Texas, a MSc in Modern Art from the University of Edinburgh’s College of Art, and an MFA in Studio Art with Critical Theory emphasis from the University of California-Irvine.
Three finalists for the 2026 Hermitage Greenfield Prize include Melissa Joseph, whose work considers themes of memory, family history, and the politics of how we occupy space and has been exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum, Delaware Contemporary, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, MOCA Arlington, ICA San Francisco, and List Gallery at Swarthmore College; Lily Kwong, a multidisciplinary artist whose work explores plant-life as both an artistic medium and a platform for community building and collective care, with recent projects at Madison Square Park (New York), Night Gallery (Los Angeles), and ICA (San Francisco); and Patrick Martinez, a Los Angeles-based artist whose work examines language, place, memory, and the social histories embedded within the American landscape, with recent exhibitions at the Whitney Museum, The Broad, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, the Studio Museum in Harlem, El Museo del Barrio, and the Tucson Museum of Art. All three will receive a Hermitage residency, in addition to a finalist prize of $1,000.
“I am thrilled that the Hermitage Greenfield Prize will go to Charisse Pearlina Weston, an artist of great talent and expansive vision, who I know will benefit immensely from the residency’s call for independent thinking and exploration,” added fellow HGP juror Ian Alteveer. “Weston’s practice is fascinating in its wide-ranging references — to literature, to architecture, to social justice — and I cannot wait to see what she accomplishes next.”
“I am so proud that we are awarding this prize to Charisse Pearlina Weston, said 2026 HGP juror Alison Gass. “Charisse’s proposal was astonishing in its thoughtful depth of nuance, building on her past practice, her depth of rigorous research, and her ability to weave storytelling into sculptural form. She is poised at such an exciting moment for an opportunity like this, and I cannot wait to see what is next for her, both with the Hermitage Greenfield Prize and beyond.”
“Charisse Pearlina Weston’s work confronts the complexities of Black life with material rigor and poetic force, moving with a quiet power that makes her one of the most compelling artists of her generation,” said fellow HGP juror Larry Ossei-Mensah, founder of ARTNOIR and independent curator. “The Hermitage Greenfield Prize offers her the rare gift of time, space, and support to expand that visionary practice in ways that will ripple far beyond the studio.”
“I’m honored to receive the 2026 Hermitage Greenfield Prize,” said Weston upon learning of her recognition as this year’s HGP winner. “Through multimedia installations, my commission will address the ongoing entanglement of past and present legal regimes and engage broad audiences in reflecting on how the past continues to shape contemporary life. This Prize provides a rare combination of time, focus, and support that will allow me to fully realize this work and enrich my creative practice.”
For her Hermitage Greenfield Prize commission, Charisse Pearlina Weston will create a new body of work examining specters of desire, control, and recognition through the phenomenon of so-called “zombie laws”—legal statutes that persist beyond their supposed obsolescence. Rather than treating these laws as dormant remnants, Weston approaches them as active structures that continue to organize bodies and social life through desire, fear, punishment, and moral authority. The project draws on Zora Neale Hurston’s ethnographic writing on zombies in Haiti, where the zombie emerges not as spectacle, but as a social figure shaped by unmet desires for recognition, care, and belonging. This commission deepens Weston’s ongoing investigation into the dialectics of Black interior life and resistance, extending her exploration of how structures of power and surveillance produce constrictive intimacies, and how tactics of refusal enable Black interior life to re-inscribe intimacy despite those constraints.
Charisse Pearlina Weston will be celebrated at the Hermitage Greenfield Prize Dinner on Sunday, April 12that 6pm at Michael’s On East in Sarasota, Florida. This year’s event Co-Chairs are Ellen & Richard Sandor. Capacity will be limited, so early reservations are strongly recommended. Tables and sponsorships are now available; additional information can be found at HermitageArtistRetreat.org/HGPDinner2026.
In addition to the Hermitage Greenfield Prize Dinner on April 12th, the Hermitage Greenfield Prize Celebration will include programs April 10-13 with current and past HGP winners, including the HGP commission debut from playwright and 2024 recipient Deepa Purohit, presented in collaboration with Asolo Repertory Theatre. Additional details around these HGP programs will be announced at a later date. The Hermitage Greenfield Prize Celebration is presented in partnership with the Greenfield Foundation, with the Community Foundation of Sarasota County serving as the Lead Community Sponsor.
The Hermitage Artist Retreat (Andy Sandberg, Artistic Director and CEO) announced today that the organization has received an unprecedented gift of land and property from the Morrison and Steans family. Located less than half a mile from the Hermitage’s existing home on Manasota Key, this property will more than double the Hermitage’s capacity for its celebrated artist residency program. The total appraised value of the gift is approximately $12,000,000, making this one of the largest land gifts of its kind to a nonprofit arts organization.
The Gulf-to-Bay property spans 6.5 acres of land and is comprised of five main structures. These buildings will provide additional accommodations for the nonprofit’s renowned artist-in-residence program. Generative artists, writers, and performers are invited by nomination to enjoy multi-week residencies on Manasota Key, where they receive the gift of time and space in an inspirational setting to develop new works of theater, music, visual art, literature, dance, and more.
The Morrison and Steans families – comprised of seven siblings and cousins – made this gift to the Hermitage in honor of their parents: Harrison I. Steans, Lois M. Steans, Harold M. Morrison, and Adeline S. Morrison. “Our parents believed in the mission and values of the Hermitage, and they understood first-hand the inspiration and importance of its Manasota Key home,” said the families in a joint statement. “We donate this property to the Hermitage Artist Retreat filled with hope that it will always remain a place of kindness and tolerance, where invited artists feel welcome; a place for fostering community, collaboration, connectivity, and conversations; a place of inspiration and creation; and a place that stewards the rich ecology and diversity of nature.” Adeline Morrison remains an engaged and enthusiastic supporter of the Hermitage, along with her four daughters, three nieces, and their respective families.
Adeline Morrison with Andy Sandberg
“Our family has a longstanding commitment to the Manasota Key community and its environmental preservation, and we share a collective belief in the power of nature and art to enrich lives,” added the Morrisons and Steans. “Under Andy’s leadership, the Hermitage has demonstrated that its mission and values enhance and enrich the community of the Key immeasurably, while also adding immeasurable value to the global artistic landscape. We have been impressed with Andy’s ambitious vision for the organization, and we are grateful for the beautiful gift that the Hermitage is to Manasota Key, seamlessly integrating its exceptional artists-in-residence program with this beachfront oasis.”
“This transformative gift from the Morrison and Steans family is a game-changer for the future of the Hermitage,” said Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg. “The family’s belief in the mission and values of the organization is deeply moving, and we do not take for granted what an unbelievable gift this is. This property will allow the Hermitage to not only serve individual artists, but also to uplift and support more collaborative ventures and project residencies – developing works that will be seen across the globe in major presenting halls, Broadway stages, concert venues, leading museums and galleries, bookstores, and cinemas.”
The Steans House, The Morrison House
The properties were originally built by the prominent Vanderbilt family, who settled on Manasota Key in the early 1950s. The Steans and Morrisons ultimately acquired the properties from Samuel and Lydia Auchincloss in 1987. For the past four decades, the Steans and Morrisons have used these homes as a retreat for their seven daughters and their respective families and guests.
The properties were officially transferred to the Hermitage in 2025 in pursuit of the organization’s mission: to foster and inspire the most influential and culturally consequential art and artists of our time. This is the largest single gift the Hermitage has ever received in its twenty-three-year history, and one of the largest land gifts of its kind to a nonprofit arts organization.
As the Hermitage has grown, physical capacity has sometimes presented a challenge for the aspirational goals of the organization. In recent years, the Morrison and Steans family invited the nonprofit to host artists-in-residence as their guests when the Hermitage needed overflow accommodations. Since the fall of 2024, following the impact of Hurricanes Helene and Milton on the Hermitage’s historic buildings, the Morrison and Steans families generously invited the Hermitage to expand its use of their properties. Unlike the historic Hermitage property up the road, the newly donated properties suffered minimal damage from the storms.
“This extraordinary family’s demonstration of their belief in the mission and values of the Hermitage is the truest form of philanthropy,” added Sandberg. “This unparalleled gift gives new life to the future of the organization as we plan for the lasting legacy of the Hermitage, deepening our roots on Manasota Key as we continue to broaden the Hermitage’s reach and impact both nationally and internationally.”
This newly gifted property is also the Hermitage Artist Retreat’s first ownership of land, as the nonprofit organization has been a longstanding tenant of Sarasota County in its properties adjacent to Blind Pass Beach. Nevertheless, the nonprofit organization has no intention of abandoning its original Manasota Key home, where the Hermitage has a lease with Sarasota County that currently allows for extensions up through 2055.
“This new property is intended as an expansion, not a replacement,” added Sandberg. “To have a property of our own where we can host additional artists in residence is deeply meaningful. This will allow us to broaden the reach and impact of our Hermitage programming, and to dream even bigger about the possibilities for project residencies, artistic collaborations, and more.”
The Hermitage Artist Retreat on Manasota Key – Historic Campus (North) and Newly Gifted Residences (South)
The 850 artists the Hermitage has served includes 18 Pulitzer Prize winners, Poets Laureate, Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellows, and multiple Tony, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar winners and nominees.
“The Hermitage is an organization that is deeply committed to celebrating the freedom of artistic expression, offering necessary space and time for artists to ruminate, conjure, and create,” said two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage. “I had the opportunity to visit the Hermitage as a Fellow, and I have more recently held the honor of serving on the Curatorial Council. This extraordinary gift of expansion to the Hermitage will provide wonderful new possibilities for collaboration and invention.”
“This is one of the most heavenly and inspiring places on earth, and the interdisciplinary nature of the Hermitage’s programming is deeply connected to its roots on Manasota Key,” added internationally renowned flutist Claire Chase. “It is thrilling to imagine how this gift will allow the Hermitage to expand its already visionary possibilities.”
“I have developed my plays Liberation and Camp Siegfried at the Hermitage, among other new projects, and I cannot express to you how vital this magical place is to the cultural fabric of our society,” said Tony Award-nominated playwright Bess Wohl, whose hit Broadway play Liberation shared some of its earliest excerpts on the Hermitage Beach. “I recently had the opportunity to stay at this new property as a guest of the Morrison and Steans family, and to know that this land has now been entrusted to Hermitage for its mission gives me so much joy and hope for the future of all the incredible work that will be made there for generations to come.”
“The Hermitage is one of those rare places where there’s no limit on what you can explore,” said acclaimed choreographer Lorenzo‘Rennie’ Harris. “My dancers and I were among the first to experience the generosity of this new property, and hearing that this inspiring property will be in the hands of the Hermitage forever gives me so much hope for the future. Anything and everything are possible at the Hermitage, and I am so grateful to know there are kind and generous people who believe so passionately in the mission of this remarkable place.”
“This is a monumental accomplishment for the Hermitage and a triumph for the countless artists and audiences who will benefit from this profoundly generous donation,” added Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning Hermitage alumnus and trustee Doug Wright. “The Hermitage is championing artists at the most critical stage of their process, and the inspiration behind so many of the works created at the Hermitage has been deeply influenced by the magic of Manasota Key. This expansion is a thrilling gift to our cultural society. Now, what dreams may come!”
“Seeing this gift come to fruition is nothing short of a dream come true,” added Sandberg. “It has also been a great pleasure getting to know the extended Morrison and Steans families,” added Sandberg. “I had the privilege of meeting Addie Morrison when I first joined the Hermitage six years ago. Since then, I have enjoyed getting to know the family as neighbors, friends, and supporters. Sitting down with the seven cousins to discuss our shared goals has been inspiring and invigorating. Collectively and individually, the Steans and Morrisons are good-hearted, passionate, and thoughtfully intelligent people. We are honored that they have entrusted us with their family’s legacy on Manasota Key.”
In addition to its commitment as an arts incubator, the Hermitage takes pride in its commitment to ecological preservation. The organization has invested significantly over the years in planting native flora and removing invasive species from its Manasota Key home. “The Hermitage is deeply committed to caring for this land and these unique coastal properties,” said Emeritus Trustee and longtime Manasota Key resident Larry Bold. “As we have demonstrated with the commitment, care, and resources we have put into the properties down the road, the Hermitage Board and team take our role as stewards of the land very seriously, and we know the Morrison and Steans families have put great trust in the Hermitage for the future of this land. We do not take the responsibility lightly, and as we have always done, the Hermitage intends to be both attentive caretakers and thoughtful neighbors.”
The Hermitage Board of Trustees recognizes this new ownership of property will mean an increase to the annual operating budget, and they are eager to embrace this next chapter. “This has been an incredible period of growth for our organization,” noted Board President Carole Crosby. “The organization is ripe for continued expansion, and we are hopeful that this extremely generous gift from the Morrison and Steans families will inspire others to recognize the value of supporting this vital arts organization.”
“We are excited about what this will mean for the future of the organization,” added Andy Sandberg. “This milestone gift is setting the Hermitage on a thrilling trajectory, with new opportunities and possibilities on the horizon.”
Since assuming his role as Artistic Director and CEO of the Hermitage in January of 2020, Sandberg has guided the organization through a period of significant growth and expansion. Despite the challenges of the pandemic and three of the region’s most devastating hurricanes, Sandberg and the Hermitage team have dramatically expanded the organization’s live programming; introduced dozens of new regional, national, and international collaborations; grown the organization’s annual revenue by nearly 5X; and overseen two of the largest nonprofit theater-commissioning initiatives in America. The Hermitage is now recognized as one of the preeminent new works incubators in the United States, celebrating and elevating the voices of diverse and accomplished artists spanning theater, music, visual art, dance, film, literature, and more. Beyond his role at the Hermitage, Sandberg is a director, writer, and Tony Award-winning producer whose theatrical work has been represented in New York, London, and throughout the U.S.
A leading national arts incubator, the Hermitage is the only major arts organization in Florida exclusively committed to supporting the development and creation of new work across all artistic disciplines. The Hermitage hosts artists on its Gulf Coast Manasota Key campus for multi-week residencies, where diverse and accomplished artists from around the world and across multiple disciplines create and develop new works of theater, music, visual art, literature, dance, film, and more. As part of their residencies, Hermitage Fellows participate in free year-round community programs, offering audiences in the region a unique opportunity to engage with some of the world’s leading artists and to get an authentic “sneak peek” into extraordinary projects and artistic minds before their works go on to major galleries, concert halls, theaters, and museums around the world. These free and innovative programs include performances, conversations, readings, music concerts, interactive experiences, open studios, school programs, teacher workshops, and more, serving thousands in our regional community each year.
The Hermitage Artist Retreat (Sarasota County, Florida) is pleased to announce the fifth annual concert in the Ruby E. Crosby Alumni Music Seriesat the Hermitage, featuring Juilliard-trained flutist and Hermitage alumna Emi Ferguson. This event will take place on Thursday, March 5th at 7pm at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens (Downtown Sarasota). This alumni music initiative was launched in 2022 to a full-capacity crowd at Selby Gardens with “Soulful Strings: An Evening of Harp Music,” featuring celebrated harpist and Hermitage alumna Ashley Jackson. The 2023 concert, “The Pop-Rock-Folk World of Zoe Sarnak,” featured award-winning New York City-based Hermitage alumna Zoe Sarnak,withSarasota-based vocalists and musicians performing Sarnak’s original songs at Nathan Benderson Park. The 2024 concert, “Piano Classics Remade,” featured world-renowned pianist and Hermitage alumnus Conrad Taoperforming for a sold-out crowd at Selby Gardens. Last year’s concert, “Piano in the Key of Vijay,” featured Grammy Award-nominated composer and past Hermitage Greenfield Prize winner Vijay Iyer.
This year, the Ruby E. Crosby Alumni Music Series at the Hermitage continues this popular series with Julliard-trained flutist and Hermitage Fellow Emi Ferguson. Ferguson is on a mission to shake up classical music. Whether playing modern or historical flutes, singing, composing, or speaking about music, she brings centuries of music to life with an adventurous spirit and a fresh perspective. Her performances, ranging from Baroque masterpieces to brand-new commissions are anything but predictable, blending historical performance with a fearless, modern edge. Hailed by critics for her “tonal bloom” and “hauntingly beautiful performances,” English-American flutist and composer Ferguson stretches the boundaries of what is expected of modern-day musicians. Her unique approach to the flute can be heard in performances that alternate between silver flute, auxiliary flutes, and historical flutes, playing repertoire that stretches from the Renaissance to today. Ferguson is a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant awardee and can be heard live in concerts and festivals around the world as a soloist and with groups including AMOC*, the New York New Music Ensemble, the Handel and Haydn Society, and the Manhattan Chamber Players. Emi was a featured performer alongside Yo-Yo Ma, Paul Simon, and James Taylor at the 10th Anniversary Memorial Ceremony of 9/11 at Ground Zero, where her performance of “Amazing Grace” was televised worldwide. Ferguson returns to the Hermitage after a previous “Hermitage Sunsets @ Selby Gardens” program in 2024, and a performance at the 2023 Artful Lobster.
The Ruby E. Crosby Alumni Music Series at the Hermitage offers the opportunity for a distinguished Hermitage alum to return for additional residency time and a special community concert. This initiative is made possible by a generous multi-year gift from the Ruby E. and Carole Crosby Family Foundation. Current Hermitage Board President Carole Crosby initiated this gift as a special tribute to her mother Ruby, who helped to inspire her own deep love of music. A musician herself, Carole Crosby graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music and played the harp in both the Atlanta Symphony and Detroit Symphony.
“The Hermitage brings some of the most talented artists and performers in the world to our community,” said Crosby. “Music was always incredibly important to me and to my mother, so it’s an honor to celebrate her memory with this initiative spotlighting and supporting some truly extraordinary composers and musicians. I am deeply inspired by the Hermitage’s commitment to these artists and the impact these magnificent talents are having in our region.”
“We are incredibly excited to welcome Emi Ferguson back to the Gulf Coast to share her talents with our growing Hermitage audience,” added Hermitage Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg. “Emi is one of the most captivating and enchanting flutists of our time. As we continue to reengage with and provide more opportunities for the Hermitage alumni community, this generous gift from Carole Crosby in her mother’s honor allows our audiences to celebrate and reconnect with groundbreaking musical talents who have come to know Sarasota through their time at the Hermitage.”
“Flute Through the Ages” will be presented at Selby Gardens’ Event Center (Downtown Sarasota) on Thursday, March 5that 7pm. This program is free and open to the public with a $5/person registration fee. Registration is required at HermitageArtistRetreat.org. Capacity will be limited, and registration is available on a first-come, first-served basis, at which time registration will shift to a waitlist. Previous events in this series have reached capacity, so early registration is strongly encouraged.
The Hermitage Artist Retreat today announced new programs in February of 2026. Newly announced events include Tony Award nominee Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer and the most recent winner of the Hermitage Prize in Composition at the Aspen Music Festival, Harriet Steinke,sharing a sneak peek into their works-in-process at Nathan Benderson Park on Thursday, February 5th; a return to the Hermitage Great Lawn with world-renowned flutist Claire Chase and celebrated author Kirstin Valdez Quade for an unforgettable evening of flute music and literature on Friday, February 13th; and the latest installment of Hermitage Sunsets @ Selby Gardens with comedian, musician, and writer Morgan Bassichis and Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Doug Wright sharing work and speaking about the unique art of solo performance in theater on Thursday, February 19th at Historic Spanish Point.
On Thursday, February 5th at 5pm, the Hermitage will present the latest installment of Hermitage Sunsets @ Benderson Park, “Chamber Flights & Broadway Nights.” Returning Hermitage Fellow Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, a Tony Award-nominated Broadway performer known for her star turns as ‘Lady of the Lake’ in the Broadway revival of Spamalot and Delia in Beetlejuice, is also a brilliant storyteller and back at the Hermitage as a writer. She will offer Hermitage audiences a first look at her latest theatrical writing and stories in development. The evening will also feature original music from Harriet Steinke, winner of the 2025 Hermitage Prize in Composition at the prestigious Aspen Music Festival. Steinke will share her original compositions, performed by a classical ensemble outdoors by Nathan Benderson Park Lake.
On Friday, February 13th at 5pm, audiences will have an opportunity to return to the Hermitage’s historic beachfront campus for “A Decade of Density / A Lifetime of Story – An Evening of Flute and Literature.” Returning Hermitage Fellow and world-renowned flutist Clarie Chase has delighted Sarasota audiences time and time again with her incredible talent. Chase and widely celebrated author Kirstin Valdez Quade will bring audiences back to the iconic Hermitage grounds for the first Manasota Key program in the new year. An internationally acclaimed composer and performer, Chase has been described by The New York Times as “the most important flutist of our time.” She is a pioneer in the world of contemporary music with projects such as “Density 2036,” a 24-year commissioning project that aims to reimagine the literature of the modern flute. A MacArthur Fellow and the first ever flutist to receive the Avery Fisher Award from Lincoln Center, Chase has also served on the Hermitage’s Curatorial Council. Returning Hermitage Fellow Kirstin Valdez Quade, winner of the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize and praised as “masterful” by USA Today, has been widely celebrated for her writing. With a Guggenheim Fellowship and a “5 Under 35” award from the National Book Foundation under her belt, Valdez Quade’s work “marks a new and exciting chapter in Latinx literature — one that will redefine the term for readers, scholars, and writers.” (The Georgia Review)
On Thursday, February 19th at 5:30pm, the Hermitage will present the latest installment of Hermitage Sunsets @ Selby Gardens: “The Highs and Lows of Going Solo.” Hermitage Fellow Morgan Bassichis isa comedian, musician, and writer who has been called “fiercely hilarious” (The New Yorker)and “a tall child or, well… a big bird” (The Nation). Their show Can I Be Frank? is a solo piece about the late performer Frank Maya that recently completed an acclaimed Off-Broadway run. Returning Hermitage Fellow Doug Wright knows something about solo shows as well, having won a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award for his iconic Broadway play I Am My Own Wife, based on the story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. Bassichis and Wright will be in conversation about the challenges and opportunities of the form and will treat Hermitage audiences to excerpts of their work in the beautiful sunken gardens at Selby Gardens’ Historic Spanish Point as the sun sets into the bay.
These Hermitage programs are free and open to the public (with a $5/person registration fee), offering Gulf Coast audiences a rare chance to engage and interact with some of the world’s leading talent. Running time for most Hermitage programs is 60-70 minutes with no intermission. Due to capacity limitations, registration is required at HermitageArtistRetreat.org.
The Hermitage Artist Retreat today announced new programs to kick off the beginning of 2026. Newly announced events include Hermitage Fellow Roger Q. Mason’s exploration of what it means to live in a democracy today at Venice Theatre on Monday, January 12th; a playwright’s look into the modern healthcare system in a panel discussion with 2024 Hermitage Greenfield Prize winner Deepa Purohit as she investigates supporting material for her Hermitage-commissioned play at the Asolo Rep’s Koski Center on Wednesday, January 14th, featuring guest panelists from the Sarasota Memorial Healthcare System; and returning Hermitage Fellow and Tony Award-winning performer Britton Smith splitting the bill with celebrated jazz musician and composer Adam O’Farrill at Selby Gardens on January 29th.
On Monday, January 12th at 5:30pm, award-winning writer, performer, and educator Roger Q. Masonwill discuss their work, share excerpts from their new play, and delve deeper into the creative process of writing and playwriting with “What Freedom Means to Me.” Mason is known for their “kaleidoscopic historical fantasias” (American Theatre), juxtaposing real people and events with fantastical elements to examine modern life and cultural divides. Mason’s play and subsequent film adaptation Lavender Men received critical acclaim. As part of their Hermitage residency, Mason is working on a sequel to this celebrated work exploring what it means to live in a democracy today and diving into questions of privilege, self-love, and the cost of liberation. The hour-long event will close with a short writing exercise, inviting participants to explore and share their own relationship to freedom.
2024 Hermitage Greenfield Prize winner Deepa Purohit returns to Sarasota on Wednesday, January 14th at 3pm for a panel discussion based on her investigation into how women live, age, and die with dignity in a culture where the medical system is built on a key tenet: to preserve life. This is the question central to Purohit’s Hermitage-commissioned play, Mxx: The Dignity Project. In this upcoming program, “On Living and Dying with Dignity,” Purohit will converse with Dr. Robin Devan, who leads Sarasota Memorial Healthcare System’s Palliative Care Services, and TJ Tremaine, Bioethics Program Coordinator with Sarasota Memorial Healthcare System. Moderated by Hermitage Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg and presented in collaboration with Asolo Repertory Theatre,this conversation aims to explore the many facets of medical intervention during a woman’s life, and how ethics and dignity come into play when making decisions about care. This cross-disciplinary panel will offer a thoughtful discussion ahead of the highly anticipated premiere of Purohit’s Hermitage-commissioned play this April. This event will take place at the Asolo Repertory Theatre’s Koski Center.
On Thursday, January 29th at 5:30pm, acclaimed jazz musician and composer Adam O’Farrill and Tony Award-winning performer Britton Smith will share the stage for the next installment of the Hermitage Sunsets @ Selby Gardens series: “The Rising Stars of Jazz and Soul.” Descended from Latin jazz royalty, Hermitage Fellow Adam O’Farrill is a composer, bandleader, and trumpeter who has been hailed by The New York Times as “a blazing young trumpet player” and “perhaps the music’s next major improviser.” Known for his uniquely personal style, O’Farrill has been widely recognized in the jazz community as a rising star of the genre. Returning Hermitage Fellow Britton Smith, a Tony Award-winning Broadway performer and leader of the self-described “funk liberation band” Britton and the Sting, has been called a “force to be reckoned with” and a “tornado of talent and energy” by Broadway World. For one night only, these two dynamic musical artists will share the Hermitage stage at Selby Gardens downtown for an unforgettable night of stripped-down music featuring two creative forces breaking boundaries in the worlds of jazz and soul. Britton Smith’s Hermitage Residency generously sponsored by Charlie Huisking.
These Hermitage programs are free and open to the public (with a $5/person registration fee), offering Gulf Coast audiences a rare chance to engage and interact with some of the world’s leading talent. Running time for most Hermitage programs is 60-70 minutes with no intermission. Due to capacity limitations, registration is required at HermitageArtistRetreat.org.
As a special addition in January, Hermitage artist and Tony Award nominee Eden Espinosa (Lempicka, Wicked, Rent), returns to Sarasota for “Music Mondays” to offer the audience a view into the world of Broadway. Espinosa performed recently in Sarasota at the 2025 Hermitage Greenfield Prize Dinner. In these “Music Mondays” events, she will share her talents as a musical performer, while also engaging in dialogue about the craft and industry of musical theater alongside Hermitage Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg, with Joseph Holt on piano. There will be two opportunities to hear from this celebrated Broadway star: Monday, January 26th at 10:30am at the Church of the Palms in Sarasota, and again at 3pm at the Venice Presbyterian Church. This event is presented in partnership with the Sarasota Institute of Lifetime Learning (SILL).
Please note the two SILL programs are not part of the Hermitage’s traditional free programming. These two “Music Mondays” presentations are hosted by the Sarasota Institute of Lifetime Learning (SILL) as a part of the “Music Mondays” series. $15 single tickets are available at the door for these special events with Eden Espinosa.
The Hermitage Artist Retreat (Sarasota County, Florida) announced today that the Hermitage has been awarded a series of grants totaling over $300,000 that will support a variety of programs and initiatives, including residencies for Hermitage Fellows, arts education support, and program accessibility. Grants were awarded by the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Amphion Foundation, Bishop Parker Foundation, Community Foundation of Sarasota County, The Exchange, Frank E. Duckwall Foundation, Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Koski Family Foundation, McNally Foundation, Poetry Foundation, Southface Sarasota’s GoodUse Grant, and the Tourist Development Cultural/Arts Program.
The Welles Murphey Fund at Gulf Coast Community Foundation (GCCF)renewed its support for the Hermitage with a $50,000 Empowering Arts Grant in support of the organization’s mission: to inspire and foster the most influential and culturally consequential art and artists of our time. The Hermitage became one of Gulf Coast’s “Arts Appreciation” grantees in 2021, and that program was recently rebranded as “Empowering Arts,” supporting some of the leading arts and cultural institutions in the region. GCCF has additionally supported the Hermitage through other special programs and with hurricane relief efforts in recent years.
The Hermitage was awarded a $50,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Sarasota County(CFSC) to once again serve as the Lead Community Sponsor for the Hermitage Greenfield Prize Weekend. This will be the ninth year of CFSC’s support of this annual celebration, which is presented in partnership with the Greenfield Foundation; this year’s events are scheduled for April 10-13, 2026, with additional details to be announced. The popular Hermitage Greenfield Prize Dinner will be held on Sunday, April 12thstarting at 6pm at Michael’s On East.
For the upcoming season, Sarasota County approved the Tourist Development Cultural/Arts Program (TDC/A) funding, resulting in a grant award in the amount of $64,036 for the Hermitage to facilitate artist residencies and programming that supports tourism to Sarasota County. Hermitage Fellows, alumni, and curators are some of the leading artists and thinkers in their respective fields from all over the world. These world-renowned creators share their artistic talents and insight into their creative process through free community programs held on the Hermitage campus, as well as at partner arts, cultural, and educational institutions throughout the region. These impactful and educational programs offer a wide variety of free events to tourists and residents alike, all throughout Sarasota County.
The Koski Family Foundation renewed their support of the Hermitage with a $50,000 grant to support the Hermitage’s commitment to arts education, in addition to the continued support of the Hermitage’s Sarasota Cross Arts Collaborative initiative. This generous grant allows the Hermitage to foster the development and growth of teaching artists while providing local schools the benefit of these extraordinary artists’ insight and instruction. The Cross Arts Collaborative was designed to give performers who call local arts institutions their creative home a chance to expand their artistic practice from ‘performer’ to ‘creator.’ Recipients receive two weeks of uninterrupted time at the Hermitage Artist Retreat to develop a new project and present a free public program for the greater Sarasota community. The Cross Arts Collaborative recipients from 2025 will share a public program of their work December 3rd at Nathan Benderson Park as part of the “Hermitage Sunsets @ Benderson Park” series.
The Terrence McNally Foundation has renewed its support for the McNally Fellowship at the Hermitage. This grant, awarded for the second time in 2025, celebrates the residency of an early-career playwright. Additional community program support comes from The Exchange, which awarded an Elizabeth Lindsay Arts in Education grant to support the Hermitage’s education initiatives, introducing some of the world’s leading artists to Sarasota County schools. Earlier this year, a grant from the Poetry Foundationsupported general programming and recovery, while the Bishop Parker Foundation offered generous support in recognition of the Hermitage’s programming and impact in Manatee County. Grants from the Amphion Foundation and Aaron Copland Fund for Music provide support for the organization’s commitment to music initiatives. The GoodUse Grant from Southface Sarasota supports energy efficiency in operations, while the Frank E. Duckwall Foundation’s grant supports the Hermitage with a focus on rebuilding accessibility equipment after the hurricanes.
The Hermitage is widely recognized for its international artist residency program and its rapidly expanding community programming, introducing Gulf Coast audiences to some of the world’s leading artists across all disciplines. “As our programs and collaborations continue to evolve and expand, we are excited to see the impact on audiences throughout our region and beyond,” says Hermitage Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg. “We are deeply appreciative for these generous grants from both new and longtime supporters, all of which will provide invaluable support and resources to the diverse and accomplished Hermitage artists who are making a meaningful impact in our community and with audiences around the world.”
The Hermitage Artist Retreat (Sarasota County, Florida) raised over $450,000 at the 2025 Hermitage Artful Lobster on Saturday, November 8th. This annual event raises valuable funds for the Hermitage’s internationally renowned artist residency program, supporting the creative process of artists from around the world in the fields of music, theater, visual art, literature, dance, and more. This year’s event returned to the Hermitage’s historic beachfront campus on Manasota Key after being displaced by the hurricanes in 2024. Over 200 guests attended the sold-out luncheon, where Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg served as the master of ceremonies.
The event featured performances from Tony Award nominated Broadway star Betsy Wolfe (Death Becomes Her; Waitress; & Juliet); Latvian guitarist and Hermitage Fellow Matīss Čudars, the 2023 recipient of the Hermitage Prize in Composition; and 2024 Hermitage Cross Arts Collaborative Fellow Raleigh Mosely II.
Following welcome remarks from Andy Sandberg who reflected on the past year and expressed gratitude to the larger Hermitage community, Raleigh Mosely II kicked off the musical entertainment with an unforgettable performance of “The Only One,” written by Tony Award-winning Hermitage Fellow Gavin Creel. This song was from Creel’s musical Walk on Through, which was developed in part at the Hermitage prior to Creel’s passing. Sandberg noted that this performance in Gavin’s honor was intended to celebrate the legacy of this beloved performer and Hermitage alum. Shortly thereafter, the event’s headliner Betsy Wolfe took to the stage to share two songs from original musicals she’s developed. This included “The Shape of Things” from the new musical Joy, with music and lyrics by Hermitage Major Theater Award finalist AnnMarie Milazzo. After lunch, guitarist Matīss Čudars, the 2023 recipient of the Hermitage Prize in Composition at the Aspen Music Festival & School, delighted the audience with a guitar performance of his original composition “Vilcienā,” as well as a memorable rendition of the Beatles’ “Let it Be.” Following a brief video presentation about the impact of the hurricanes in the past season, Betsy Wolfe returned for a poignant rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” to highlight the Hermitage’s recovery efforts. After a highly successful and enthusiastic paddle raise led by Sandberg with some help from “Artsy” the Artful Lobster, Wolfe closed out the event with the pop anthem “Domino,” featured in the musical & Juliet, for which Wolfe received a Tony Award nomination. Sarasota musician and frequent Hermitage collaborator Joseph Holt performed alongside both Wolfe and Mosely on the keys. Between sponsorships and the paddle raise, the event raised over $450,000 in support of the Hermitage mission: to inspire and foster the most influential and culturally consequential art and artists of our time.
“This year’s Artful Lobster was an event to remember and an especially meaningful celebration of resilience as we returned to the Hermitage campus,” said Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg. “We are thankful to all who attended and supported this year’s festivities. The generous outpouring of support for the work we are doing at the Hermitage is a demonstration of our community’s extraordinary commitment to the arts and the creative process.”
This year’s Artful Lobster was co-chaired by Sondra & Gerald Biller and Michael & Carol Clark. Sponsors and partners for the 2025 Artful Lobster included Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Key Agency, Herald-Tribune / Local IQ, and SRQ Media. A full list of this year’s sponsors and partners can be found at HermitageArtistRetreat.org/ArtfulLobster2025.
The Hermitage Artist Retreat announces a new December program. This newly announced event, “The Fantasy of Reality,”is scheduled for Thursday, December 18that 6pm, at Bookstore1 in downtown Sarasota. “The Fantasy of Reality” features award-winning Hermitage Fellow Joseph Earl Thomas, who straddles form, from memoir and nonfiction to fiction and poetry. Thomas is celebrated for his distinctive style that often pushes expectations, and his work often plays with the boundaries between fantasy and reality. His memoir Sink was hailed as “extraordinary” by TheNew York Times. Past Hermitage Fellow and National Book Award winner Justin Torres said Thomas’ novel God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer “reads like direct communication from the soul.” Thomas’ Hermitage Residency is generously sponsored by Georgia Court.
Joseph Earl Thomas isthe author of several published books, includingSink, a memoir, longlisted for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and shortlisted for the Patrick Saroyan International Writing Prize; the novel God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer, longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Literary Excellence, finalist for the LA Times Art Seidenbaum Award, and winner of the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize; and the forthcoming story collection Leviathan Beach. Thomas’ prose and poetry have been published or are forthcoming in The Kenyon Review, The Paris Review, The Verge, Harper’s, Virginia Quarterly Review, Vanity Fair,The Yale Review, TheMassachusetts Review, and Dilettante Army. A graduate of Notre Dame’s MFA program in prose, he earned his PhD in English from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the writing faculty at Sarah Lawrence College as well as low residency MFA programs at Holy Family and Randolph Colleges, Thomas teaches courses in Black Studies, Poetics, Video Games, Queer Theory and more at the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research.
All Hermitage programs are free and open to the public (with a $5/person registration fee), offering Gulf Coast audiences a rare chance to engage and interact with some of the world’s leading talent. Due to capacity limitations, registration is required at HermitageArtistRetreat.org.
The Hermitage Artist Retreat announces today that Tony Award nominee Betsy Wolfe will headline the Hermitage’s sold-out fall fundraising event, “The Artful Lobster: An Outdoor Celebration!” on Saturday, November 8th from 11:30am to 2pm. This year’s event returns to the Hermitage’s historic beachfront campus on Manasota Key after being displaced by the hurricanes in 2024. The popular fall luncheon will also feature performances from acclaimed guitarist and Hermitage Fellow Mattĩs Čudars, the 2023 recipient of the Hermitage Prize in Composition at the Aspen Music Festival & School; and from 2024 Hermitage Cross Arts Collaborative Fellow Raleigh Mosely II.
Now in its 17th year, the Artful Lobster raises valuable funds for the Hermitage’s renowned artist residency program, supporting the creative process of artists from around the world in the fields of music, theater, visual art, literature, dance, and more. This popular event, which takes place outdoors beneath a large tent on the Hermitage’s beachfront campus, features a lobster feast catered by Michael’s On East, in addition to live performances from renowned Hermitage Fellows. The Co-Chairs for the 2025 Artful Lobster are Sondra & Gerald Biller and Michael & Carol Clark.
Betsy Wolfe will soon be seen in the Tony Award-nominated musical Death Becomes Her, starring as Madeline Ashton. Most recently, she earned critical acclaim as the title role in the new musical JOY, with a score by 2022 Hermitage Major Theater Award finalist AnnMarie Milazzo. Betsy previously wrapped her tenure as Anne Hathaway in & Juliet, where her celebrated performance was nominated for the 2023 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Wolfe is well known for her starring turns as Jenna in Sara Bareilles’ Tony Award-nominated musical Waitress, Cordelia in the Broadway revival of Falsettos, and Cathy in the first major Off-Broadway revival of The Last Five Years. Wolfe made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Die Fledermaus and has appeared as a guest artist with more than 60 symphony, pops, and philharmonic orchestras worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the New York Pops, and the BBC Orchestra.
Latvian composer and guitarist Matīss Čudars is the 2023 recipient of the Hermitage Prize in Composition, presented in partnership with the Aspen Music Festival and School. Čudars draws upon a diverse musical background encompassing math rock, jazz, classical music, and improv. Inspired by Latvia’s rich traditions in folk and choral music, Matīss’ work embodies a quest for melodicism and beauty, often reflecting the sublime yet understated nature of his motherland. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Jazz Guitar from Amsterdam Conservatory and a Master’s Degree in Composition from the Yale School of Music.
Raleigh Mosely II is the 2024 recipient of the Hermitage Cross Arts Collaborative Fellowship and a member of Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, where he has starred as Jimmy Early in Dreamgirls and currently as the title role in Purlie. His additional credits with WBTT include Soul Crooners featuring Sistas in the Name of Soul at the National Black Theatre Festival, Broadway in Black, Joyful! Joyful!, Marvin Gaye: Prince of Soul, In the Heights, and A Motown Christmas. Conductor, pianist, and arranger, and arts leader Dr. Joseph Holt, a frequent Hermitage collaborator, will provide accompaniment on the keys.
“We are incredibly excited to welcome Betsy Wolfe to the Hermitage to perform at our 17th annual Artful Lobster,” says Hermitage Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg. “Our paths have crossed for many years in the theater world, and we’re so fortunate to have Betsy joining us just weeks before she steps into her newest leading role on Broadway! The line-up of talent for this year’s Artful Lobster is truly extraordinary, and attendees are in for a real treat.”
The Artful Lobster raises vital funds for the Hermitage’s core residency program and the many free programs the Hermitage offers throughout the community each year. Sponsorship levels for this fundraiser range from $1,500 to $10,000. The event is now at capacity; for waitlist inquiries, contact: (941) 475-2098, Ext. 2.
Community and media partners for the 2025 Hermitage Artful Lobster include Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Herald-Tribune Media Group, Key Agency, and SRQ Media. A full list of this year’s sponsors, benefactors, and partners can be found at HermitageArtistRetreat.org/ArtfulLobster2025/.
