This summer, three exceptional Florida public school arts teachers are trading classrooms for coastlines as recipients of the 2025 State Teachers Artist Residency (STARs) program, hosted by the Hermitage Artist Retreat. Now in its fifteenth year, the STARs program, presented in partnership with the Florida Alliance for Arts Education, gives these educators the chance to focus on their own creative work while enjoying a residency on scenic Manasota Key.
The 2025 recipients were chosen from a competitive pool of applicants and include:
- Jennifer Bennett, a Seminole County theater educator and acclaimed playwright.
- Abbey Kish, a visual artist from Orange County whose work blends drawing, printmaking, and photography.
- Emma Olivia Chandler, a Hillsborough County metalsmith who turns elements of nature into wearable sculpture.
The residency culminates in a family-friendly showcase of the teachers’ creative work at the Englewood YMCA on Friday, July 11 at 11:30 a.m., offered exclusively to local YMCA summer students.
Hermitage Artistic Director Andy Sandberg calls the STARs “exceptional educators and talented artists in their own right,” noting that the program reinvigorates teachers with new energy to bring back to their students. Since its founding in 2011, the Hermitage STARs program has supported 70 educators from over 30 Florida counties. It remains one of the only Hermitage residencies open to direct application.
Read more at hermitageartistretreat.org
For more information or to apply for a future residency, visit: faae.org/star.
Photo: Jennifer Bennett,Abbey Kish, and Emma Olivia Chandler. Photo by hermitageartistretreat.org.
