In celebration of its 20th anniversary season and the 15th anniversary of the Greenfield Prize, the Hermitage Artist Retreat—in collaboration with the Philadelphia-based Greenfield Foundation—has selected not one, but two recipients for the 2023 Hermitage Greenfield Prize.

This year’s recipient in visual art is Sandy Rodriguez, a first-generation Chicana artist and researcher. Raised on the U.S.-Mexico border, Rodriguez creates poignant landscapes that weave together history, social memory, contemporary politics and cultural production. She plans to use her commission to create a panoramic exhibition, the centerpiece of which will be a new large-scale map that depicts the southeastern topography and coastline marked by stories of resistance from the colonial period to the present.

To celebrate the Hermitage's 20th anniversary season and the 15-year legacy of the Greenfield Prize, the Hermitage and the Greenfield Foundation decided to present a second award in the discipline of dance and choreography. This is the first time the Greenfield Prize is recognizing dance, with an award going to Lorenzo "Rennie" Harris," a pioneer in the street dance movement since founding Rennie Harris Puremovement in the early 90s. Harris brings bringing authentic hip-hop experiences to the dance concert stage and educational spaces around the world. His commission will focus on a work titled Losing My Religion, a personal reflection on his own journey that weaves in thoughts on the world’s collective dilemmas.

Harris and Rodriguez will each receive a six-week Hermitage Fellowship and a $30,000 commission to create a new work in their respective fields, which will have their first public presentations in Sarasota County in 2025. 

For more information about the Hermitage, the Hermitage Greenfield Prize, and upcoming Hermitage programs, click here.