continued from page 63 — Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation: THE ART OF A DREAM
2007 Architect Firm of the Year by the Florida
Association of the AIA. Other project partners
include the City of Destin, Gustin, Cothern &
Tucker and Biological Research Associates.
CULTURAL EVENTS
The Amphitheater and The Village Green
will serve as a permanent venue for the popular Destin Festival of the Arts and Concerts in
the Park. The Phase One project will enable
the Foundation to raise the caliber of its
cultural programming to present four major
events of national recognition during year one
and expanding to eight productions by year
three. Other non-profit community organizations, corporate and private sectors are
anticipated to utilize the Mattie Kelly Cultural
Arts Village for special events, weddings and
other community functions.
ARTS EDUCATION: All Kinds of Art
“Drawing Out the Best in Children”
ALL KINDS OF ART (AKA) is an educational
outreach program of the Mattie Kelly Arts
Foundation bringing art enrichment to the
children of Okaloosa and Walton Counties
through the literary, performing and visual
arts.
Since 1995, AKA has exposed thousands
of children to the arts with emphasis on
reaching low-income and at-risk students in
more than 20 elementary and middle schools.
Due to statewide budget cuts resulting in
limited art in the public school system, the
AKA program provides a much needed edu-
cational service to
the students of our
community.
AKA features:
1) After-school art
classes; 2) Summer
art camp programs
offering a varied
curriculum; 3) In-School art instruction providing art
teachers and curriculum at schools
where no art is offered,
and 4) Live touring performances featuring
artists from the U.S. with award-winning
authors, storytellers, opera, theater, music and
dance.
The rural nature of our area greatly reduces cultural opportunities to young audiences.
Through the AKA program, the Mattie Kelly
Arts Foundation is able to impact children of
all ages, including those with physical, emotional and financial handicaps. Former U.S.
Attorney General, Janet Reno, stated “Young
people who are involved in making something beautiful today are less likely to turn to
acts of violence and destruction tomorrow. We
all need to support the arts. In doing so, we
are telling America’s youth that we believe in
them and value what they can be.”
Arts education programs have proven
that students who participate in the arts score
higher on SAT tests regardless of socio-eco-nomic status; prevent negative choices later on
This summer, the Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation celebrated its official ribbon
cutting with representatives from area Chambers of Commerce including
Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville and Walton County.
and increase attention span, commitment and
tolerance and provide an effective intervention strategy for troubled youth. Arts-based
delinquency programs showed that at-risk
youths improved their attitudes, behavior and
academic performance, decreased delinquent
behavior and increased communication skills.
ALL KINDS OF ART is sponsored in part by
grants from the Southern Arts Federation, the
State of Florida, Division of State Division of
Cultural Affairs, the National Endowment of
the Arts and the Destin Charity Wine Auction
Foundation. Other education partners who
supply matching grant funds include The
Damroth Foundation, Destin Commons,
Regions Bank and Silver Sands Factory Stores.
AKA is a recipient of the Florida Commissioner of Education Award of Distinction by
the Florida Department of Education. ❂
For more information on Mattie Kelly Arts
Foundation, call (850) 650-2226 or visit
www.mattiekellyartsfoundation.org
ALL KINDS OF ART is designed to bring art enrichment
to the children of the community. The program
provides an artistic outlet for students through
the performing, visual and literary arts.
