New York Magazine Critic Saltz To Speak In Sarasota

A nationally renowned arts critic will be the keynote speaker at the Greenfield Prize Award Dinner in Sarasota this April.

The Hermitage Artist Retreat, along with the Greenfield Foundation, iannounced that Jerry Saltz, senior art critic and columnist for New York Magazine, will be the keynote speaker at this year’s Greenfield Prize Award Dinner being held on Sunday, April 21, 2013 in Sarasota.

Saltz joins a list of speakers that have appeared at the dinner, including Pulitzer Prize winning composer David Lang, Public Theatre Artistic Director Osker Eustis, renowned American Painter James Rosenquist, and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Conductor and Music Director for Aspen Music Festival and School Robert Spano. The prestigious $30,000 Prize rotates among three arts disciplines: theater, music and visual art.

The 2013 Greenfield Prize will be presented in visual art to an American painter. Past winners were Playwright Craig Lucas, Composer Eve Beglarian, Visual Artist Sanford Biggers, Playwright John Guare, and Composer and Jazz Pianist Vijay Iyer.

“From the start, we have tried to have the keynote speaker of this prestigious award dinner, be of the same impressive caliber as the prize winner,” explained Bruce E. Rodgers, executive director of the Hermitage Artist Retreat. “In only five short years, we have been able to attract some of the most accomplished experts in the fields we are honoring. Next year will be no exception. Not only is Jerry Saltz a renowned critic of contemporary art, he’s an entertaining and very knowledgeable speaker. Having him among the weekend’s participating VIPs is very exciting.”

Saltz has been senior art critic and a columnist for New York Magazine since 2006.  Before that, Saltz was senior art critic for The Village Voice newspaper. His criticisms have been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize three times and featured in two books, Seeing Out Loud and Seeing Out Louder.  Saltz was the sole advisor for the 1995 Whitney Biennial and has served as a visiting critic to many schools and universities including The School of Visual Arts, Columbia University, Yale University, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the New York Studio Residency Program.

The Greenfield Prize was established in 2008. The award includes a $30,000 cash prize as a commission to create a new work of art of the artist’s choosing. The art is to be created within two years. Time and space to create at the Hermitage Artist Retreat is also included. Upon completion, the new work is presented by a professional arts organization, during the Greenfield Prize Weekend. As part of this tradition, a staged reading of a new play by John Guare, the 2011 Greenfield Prize winner, will be presented on April 18 and 19, 2013 by Asolo Rep actors in the Historic Asolo Theater.

“With each new announcement, we get more and more excited about this very special weekend of arts activities,” continued Rodgers. “In April, we kick off with a new play by John Guare and continue with free community symposia centered this year around theater and visual art. These creative conversations will feature more national art figures who will share their thoughts on what’s happening in their global worlds of art and artistry. The grand finale, of course, is the dinner and the presentation of the Prize to this year’s winner.”

Let Patch save you time. Get great local stories like this delivered right to your inbox or smartphone everyday with our free newsletter. Simple, fast sign-up here.

For more information on the Greenfield Prize, visit the website at www.greenfieldprize.org. For more information on the Hermitage Artist Retreat, visit the website at www.HermitageArtistRetreat.org

About the Greenfield Prize

The Greenfield Prize was established in 2009 by longtime Sarasota residents Bob and Louise Greenfield through the Philadelphia-based Greenfield Foundation. The prize is a means by which a groundbreaking, enduring work of art will be created each year at the Hermitage Artist Retreat. The Prize consists of a $30,000 commission of an original work of art, a six-week residency at the Hermitage, and a partnership with a professional arts organization to develop the work and assistance in moving the work forward into the American arts world. A distinguished seven-person panel consisting of some of the most highly respected authorities in American art select each Greenfield Prize recipient. Three voting members on each jury are joined by a producing partner representative, Joni Greenfield of the Greenfield Foundation, Hermitage Greenfield Prize Director Patricia Caswell and Hermitage Executive Director Bruce Rodgers who facilitates. 

About the Hermitage Artist Retreat

The Hermitage is a not-for-profit artist retreat located at 6660 Manasota Key Road in Englewood.  It brings accomplished painters, sculptors, writers, playwrights, poets, composers and other artists from all over the world for extended stays on its 8.5-acre campus. Each artist is asked to contribute two services to the community during their stay. So far, Hermitage artists have touched over 8,000 Gulf Coast community children and adults with their unique and inspiring programs. For more information about the Hermitage Artist Retreat, visit the website at www.HermitageArtistRetreat.org orcall 941-475-2098.