In July, five Florida public school arts teachers will be spending three weeks in Sarasota County working on their own artistic endeavors. They’re the winners of the 2019 State Teacher/Artist Residency program (STARs), presented by the Hermitage Artist Retreat and the Florida Alliance for Arts Education (FAAE). This year's recipients include four visual artists and a composer. The five receive a three-week summer residency, July 1-21, at the Hermitage in Englewood, where they live and work as artists, without any expectation, schedule or demands.

The chosen five are Cheryl Meehan, a visual arts teacher at Freedom Elementary in Bradenton; Robert Constable, a music composition teacher at Crestwood Elementary in Tampa; David Martin, a visual arts teacher at Bonita Springs Elementary in Naples; Julie Orsini-Shakher, a visual arts teacher at Dr. Michael Krop Senior High in Hollywood; and Mirena Suarez, a visual arts teacher at Ada Merritt K-8 Center in Miami.

Hermitage Artist Retreat