Hermitage Artist Retreat to Host Artful Lobster Benefit and Greenfield Prize Dinner

The Hermitage Artist Retreat (Sarasota County, Florida) has announced that the annual Hermitage Artful Lobster benefit will be held on Saturday, November 7th, 2026, from 11:30am to 2pm on Manasota Key. Now in its 18th year, this signature outdoor event raises valuable funds for the Hermitage's renowned artist residency program.

The Artful Lobster is the only Hermitage benefit hosted on the grounds of the historic Gulf-front campus – outdoors beneath a large tent – located at 6660 Manasota Key Road in Englewood. Michael's On East offers a lobster feast, with performances from award-winning Hermitage Fellows. Past artists who have shared their talents at this popular event include Tony Award-nominated Broadway star Betsy Wolfe, internationally renowned flutist Claire Chase, Tony Award nominee Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, acclaimed string quartet ETHEL, celebrated musical theater composer Adam Gwon, Grammy Award-nominated music director and composer Rona Siddiqui, virtuoso violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain, and more.

The 19th annual Hermitage Greenfield Prize Dinner will be held on Sunday, April 18th, 2027, starting at 6pm at Michael's On East in downtown Sarasota. This elegant annual dinner heralds the jury-selected recipient of this prestigious prize, which will be awarded next season in the discipline of theater. The Hermitage Greenfield Prize (HGP) is a distinguished national commission awarded by the Hermitage Artist Retreat in partnership with the Philadelphia-based Greenfield Foundation; the $35,000 award rotates annually between theater, music, and visual art. The 2027 HGP winner's newly commissioned work will have its first public presentation in Sarasota in the spring of 2029. Past performers at this event have included Tony Award-winning Hermitage Fellows Gavin Creel and Rachel Bay Jones, Tony Award nominees Will Swenson and Eden Espinosa, Grammy Award-winning classical musicians, and more.

Additional details for both events will be announced at a later date. Sponsorship levels are expected to range from $1,500 to $10,000 for the Artful Lobster, and from $2,000 to $10,000 for the Hermitage Greenfield Prize Dinner. (Costs are subject to change, so early sponsorships are encouraged.) For sponsorship inquiries, call (941) 475-2098, Ext. 2.

Past recipients of the Hermitage Greenfield Prize include:

• Charisse Pearlina Weston, visual artist (2026);
• Rucyl Mills, sound artist/composer (2025);
• Deepa Purohit, playwright (2024);
• Sandy Rodriguez, visual artist (2023);
• Rennie Harris, dancer/choreographer (2023);
• Angélica Negrón, composer (2022);
• Aleshea Harris, playwright (2021);
• Helga Davis, composer/performer (2019);
• Martyna Majok, playwright (2018);
• David Burnett, photojournalist (2017);
• Coco Fusco, interdisciplinary artist (2016);
• Bobby Previte, composer/drummer (2015);
• Nilo Cruz, playwright (2014);
• Trenton Doyle Hancock, visual artist (2013);
• Vijay Iyer, composer/pianist (2012);
• John Guare, playwright (2011);
• Sanford Biggers, visual artist (2010);
• Craig Lucas, playwright (2009);
• Eve Beglarian, composer (2009).

A leading national arts incubator, the Hermitage is the only major arts organization in Florida's Gulf Coast 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.

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