'2024 Hermitage STARs' present a family-friendly showcase

ENGLEWOOD — The Hermitage Artist Retreat announced recipients of the 2024 State Teachers Artist Residency program for its 14th annual music educators retreat.

This year’s recipients include:

• Greg Burdick, a theater arts educator, director and playwright in Polk County.

• Dealey Dansby, a sculpture and ceramics visual artist currently teaching elementary and middle school art at Carrollwood K-8 in Tampa.

• Shaun Fergus, an art instructor at Fort White Middle School in Columbia County.

• Kayleen Justus, director of Steel Bands at Leon High School in Tallahassee.

• Vanessa Watkins, a glass artist with a focus on restoration art at Markham Woods Middle School in Seminole County.

As part of their residencies, Hermitage Fellows participate in free year-round community programs, offering audiences in the region the opportunity to engage with some of the world’s leading artists and to get a “sneak peek” into projects before their works go on to major galleries, concert halls, theaters and museums around the world.

These free programs include performances, conversations, readings, interactive experiences, open studios, school programs and teacher workshops, innovative programs Hermitage officials said serves thousands in the regional community each year.

Hermitage Artistic Director/CEO Andy Sandberg said the STARs program offers teachers the opportunity to focus on their craft and their creative process, which has helped “many Hermitage teaching artist alumni” return to their students with a “new fire and passion” for arts education.

“These exceptional educators are also talented artists and creative minds in their own right,” Sandberg stated in a news release. “During the academic year, their attention is devoted to their students, and this has been a particularly challenging few years for educators throughout the state of Florida.”

The program is in partnership with the Hermitage Artist Retreat, the Florida Alliance for Arts Education, The Boys & Girls Club of Sarasota and Desoto County and the Englewood YMCA.

The five teaching artists will present a family-friendly showcase of their work on July 12 at the Hermitage’s beachfront campus on Manasota Key.