Michael J. Marocco ’81 has long been a leader in finance. As Managing Director at Sandler Capital Management, he’s spent decades navigating complex markets with precision and foresight. But these days, it’s his deep-rooted passion for the arts—and his extraordinary talent for bringing art and nature into conversation—that’s drawing attention.
For more than twenty years, Marocco has imagined and nurtured InSitu: a 28-acre sculpture garden of national significance set within 300 protected acres of forest, field, and stream in Redding, Connecticut. This living, breathing gallery blends landscape architecture, horticulture, and sculpture into an experience that invites reflection, exploration, and inspiration. InSitu isn’t just a place to see art—it’s a place where art is made possible. It’s also a window into Marocco’s creative vision: one in which nature is not simply a backdrop, but a studio, a collaborator, and an endless source of imaginative energy.
This spring, that vision expanded to include a new community of makers. In May 2025, Marocco opened the gates of InSitu to the University of Southern Maine, hosting the inaugural Artist Retreat organized by the Kate Cheney Chappell ’83 Center for Book Arts. The retreat offered six artists a rare opportunity: uninterrupted time and space to explore their own work in an environment designed to spark creativity. There were no assignments, no deadlines—just the quiet hum of the garden, a shared appreciation for the book arts, and the freedom to create.
Participants brought personal projects and open minds. They engaged in dialogue, found unexpected inspiration among the sculptures and gardens, and reconnected with the artistic impulses that often get lost in the shuffle of daily life. InSitu’s expansiveness gave them room not just to work, but to dream.
Marocco’s connection to USM runs deep. A graduate of the Class of 1981 with a degree in Accounting, he went on to earn an M.B.A. in finance from New York University. Alongside his high-profile career in investment management, he’s remained deeply committed to his alma mater—serving on the USM Foundation Board of Directors and supporting a range of initiatives that reflect his belief in education, athletics, and the arts as vital forces for transformation.
By welcoming the KCC’83CBA retreat to InSitu, Marocco did more than open up his private sanctuary—he helped USM extend its mission beyond the classroom, into the natural world. His generosity created a space where artists could rest, explore, and grow. It also offered a powerful reminder: that great art often begins not with a plan, but with a pause.
And for the University of Southern Maine, for its artists, and for those lucky enough to wander InSitu, that kind of pause is a gift.
InSitu image gallery
