Photo Flash: Greenfield Prize Weekend Features Arts Leaders and More

The Hermitage Artist Retreat and the Greenfield Foundation announce an exciting schedule of public events involving national arts creators, curators and producers who are participating in the Greenfield Prize weekend, April 18-21. Beginning with a professional reading of a new play by famed playwright John Guare and culminating with the 2013 Greenfield Prize award presentation to Painter Trenton Doyle Hancock, the four days promise to be filled with arts experiences, discussions and dinners with access to some of the most sought-after arts experts in the country.

"In its first five years, the Greenfield Prize has become recognized as a prestigious national arts award," remarked Bruce E. Rodgers, executive director of the Hermitage Artist Retreat, the organization that administers the Prize. "With so many revered arts leaders choosing to join us for the Greenfield Prize presentation it has created an opportunity to increase public access to these arts innovators. This year, in addition to inviting the public to be the first to experience the 2011 Greenfield Prize commission, a new play by John Guare, we have added four free public discussions about what is happening now and what we can expect in our future regarding the arts."

The Greenfield Prize weekend will begin on Thursday, April 18^th at 8:00 pm with a premiere reading of the work of our 2011 Greenfield Prize winner, John Guare. His new play, Eddie in the Andes, is being presented as part of the Asolo Rep's Unplugged New Play Festival. The reading will be held at the Historic Asolo Theater, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota. Tickets are $7 and may be reserved by calling the Asolo Box Office, 941-351-8000. A second reading of Eddie in the Andes is scheduled for Friday, April 19 at 2:00 pm. There will be a play talk following each reading. The partnership in presenting the play is between the Hermitage Artist Retreat, Asolo Rep, the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation.

Four free Creative Conversations begin Friday morning, April 19^th. All will be held in the Ringling Museum's Education Center. Space is limited so reservations are requested and may be made by calling the box office at 941-360-7399. Creative Conversations are sponsored by the Mandell L. and Madeleine H. Berman Foundation and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation. The lineup is as follows:

• Friday, April 19, 11:00 am 2011 Greenfield Prize winner in drama, Playwright John Guare, will speak on "My Life, My Work."
• Saturday, April 20, 2:00 pm 2013 Greenfield Prize winner in visual art, Painter Trenton Doyle Hancock, will present "My Life, My Work"
• Saturday, April 20, 3:15 pm national museum curators from will present "Whither Painting? Painting in the 21st Century."
• Sunday, April 21, 2:00 pm art critics, theater producers and music publishers will discuss "Contemporary Art in America."

These events precede the Greenfield Prize Award Dinner on Sunday evening, 6:00 pm in the Francis Ballroom, 1289 N. Palm Avenue, Sarasota. At the dinner, Trenton Doyle Hancock will receive the 2013 Greenfield Prize. Keynote speaker at the dinner will be Jerry Saltz, Senior Art Critic for New York magazine. Individual tickets are $175; Patrons are $300. Reservations can be made online www.GreenfieldPrize.org or by calling Janet Hunter, 941-371-6798.

"The Greenfield Prize weekend has taken on a life of it's own," continued Rodgers. "Our job is to take this amazing gift and share it with the community. It is a job we are more than happy to take on."

To reserve for any of the Greenfield Prize events, please visit the website www.greenfieldprize.org or call the Hermitage Artist Retreat, 941-475-2098.

Trenton Doyle Hancock

John Guare byPaul Kolnik