Artist retreat receives more than $300,000 in grants

The Hermitage Artist Retreat received a series of grants totaling more than $300,000 to support a variety of programs and initiatives, including residencies for Hermitage fellows, arts education support and program accessibility. 

Grants came from 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.

Grants for specific programs include:

• The Welles Murphey Fund at Gulf Coast Community Foundation, $50,000 to support the organization’s mission to inspire and foster influential and culturally consequential art. 
• Community Foundation of Sarasota County, The Hermitage, $50,000 for the lead community sponsor of the Hermitage Greenfield Prize Weekend set for April 10-13, 2026.
• The Tourist Development Cultural/Arts Program, $64,036 to facilitate artist residencies and programming that supports tourism to Sarasota County. 
• Koski Family Foundation, $50,000 to support the Hermitage’s commitment to arts education and continued support of the Hermitage’s Sarasota Cross Arts Collaborative initiative. Recipients receive two weeks of uninterrupted time at the Hermitage Artist Retreat to develop a new project and present a free public program.

In addition, the Terrence McNally Foundation has renewed its support for the McNally Fellowship at the Hermitage to support the residency of an early-career playwright; the Bishop Parker Foundation to support programming and impact in Manatee County; the Amphion Foundation and Aaron Copland Fund for Music to support music initiatives; the GoodUse Grant from Southface Sarasota to support energy efficiency in operations; and the Frank E. Duckwall Foundation’s supporting rebuilding accessibility equipment after the 2024 hurricanes.