Arts Advocates honors Andy Sandberg with Luminaire Award

Arts Advocates recently presented Andy Sandberg, artistic director and CEO of the Hermitage Artist Retreat, with its Luminaire Award. This award is presented to individuals to celebrate outstanding contributions to the arts in Sarasota.

Arts Advocates Vice President Carol Darling said in a statement, “Andy has demonstrated the power of collaborating with arts and educational organizations in our community, from Marie Selby Botanical Gardens to Booker High School. Under Andy’s leadership, the Hermitage Artist Retreat has developed local partnerships that benefit all parties.”

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A Yale graduate, Sandberg joined the Hermitage in December 2019 after directing numerous off-Broadway shows, including "Operation Epsilon," "The Last Smoker in America," "Shida" and "Straight." At Yale, he both performed and served as business manager for college performing arts troupes.

Based on a nine-acre campus on Manasota Key, the Hermitage offers artists multi-week residences to create new works of theater, music, visual art, literature and more. In exchange, artists must interact with the community through presentations that are free to the public with a $5 registration fee.

Each year, in collaboration with the Philadelphia-based Greenfield Foundation, the artistic incubator awards the Hermitage Greenfield Prize, which includes a six-week stay at the Hermitage and a $35,000 commission to create a new work of art. The prize rotates between the fields of theater, music and visual art. 

Along with the Luminaire Award, Arts Advocates President William Rusling presented Sandberg with a $1,000 donation to the Hermitage Artist Retreat, which has been hard hit by hurricanes in recent years.

Past Luminaire Award recipients include Florida Highwaymen artist Mary Ann Carol, Howard Millman (Asolo Repertory Theatre), Richard and Rebecca Hopkins (Florida Studio Theatre), Victor DeRenzi (Sarasota Opera) and Iain Webb and Margaret Barbieri (Sarasota Ballet).