‘I lift up’: Jacksonville artist Marsha Hatcher receives $20,000 Art Ventures award


Marsha Hatcher, a multidisciplinary visual artist who spent the past 30 years helping build the Jacksonville-area arts community, has received the 2024 Ann McDonald Baker Art Ventures Award.

The $20,000 award is the largest of its kind in the region, according to The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, which funds the 10-year-old Arts Ventures program to support individual artists and small arts organizations.

The late Baker was a philanthropist, foundation trustee and co-founder of its Women’s Giving Alliance She helped create Art Ventures, the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville, Douglas Anderson School of the Arts and Greenscape, among other things.

“Our mother’s passion was to make her community a better, more beautiful and caring place,” said Sally Baker Lee, her daughter and chairwoman of the selection committee. “Marsha Hatcher exemplifies this devotion, as do all the recipients of the Ann Baker Art Ventures Award.”

Originally from South Georgia, Hatcher now lives in Jacksonville. She is the 10th winner of the Baker award, which previously came with a $10,000 grant. The Baker family increased the amount for the latest award.

Hatcher, who has received small Arts Venture grants twice before, was informed of the award last fall.

“I was elated, I was happy, I was thrilled,” she said. “My first thought was, ‘Why me?’ I realize I do things for the community that I think are required. If you’re part of the community, you know you have your roles in the community, so I do what I can to lift it up.”

As a military wife for many years, Hatcher has traveled the world and her art “captures these diverse experiences,” according to the foundation. She has mastered using oils, acrylic, wood and metal and experiments with colors and mediums.

Her work has been exhibited in many venues, including Jacksonville’s Ritz Theatre & Museum, the Beaches Museum and History Park, Yellow House and the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens.

Artist Marsha Hatcher, center, celebrates receiving The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida's 2024 Ann McDonald Baker Award with the late Baker's family, from left, Sally Baker Lee, Missy Boney, Margaret Wetherbee and Tom Baker.

Hatcher also “lent a strong artistic voice to issues around racial justice,” according to the foundation. One of her earlier Arts Venture projects was “Premeditated, Extrajudicial,” an exhibit at the Museum of Science & History.

She founded the The Art Center Cooperative, provides professional support and leads community projects, including several at area schools. Most recently she has been an instructor of visual arts students at Douglas Anderson.

“Marsha’s work over three decades truly speaks for itself,” The Community Foundation’s president, Isaiah Oliver, said. “Her contributions have made an enduring impact on helping Jacksonville cultivate and retain its talented emerging artists.”

In a Facebook post, Hatcher said, “The foundation’s steadfast commitment to supporting artists has played a crucial role in building a vibrant and thriving community. I feel fortunate to be part of such an encouraging and nurturing environment.”

To view or purchase Hatcher’s work, go to mhatcherart.us.

[email protected], (904) 359-4109


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