Marcia Hull & Gail Pelto
Billy Kinder & Gabrielle Barnett
Mary Kay Samouce & Deb Nissley
O
n a picture perfect fall day, the Mattie Kelly Arts
Foundation (MKAF) presented their 21st annual
Festival of the Arts at the Cultural Arts Village in
Destin. This is a juried art show, a panel of esteemed
art connoisseurs blindly previewed artist’s entries before the show to
select the participants.
Representing all art mediums, 100 artists displayed their
impressive art along with a Collaborative Art Exhibit of MKAF
member student and adult artists, live entertainment in the
amphitheater, a children’s art area and al fresco dining. The Emerald
Coast Plein Air Painters created an original painting on-site at the
Festival.
At the Festival, two judges visited all the artists to determine the
show’s outstanding art and award $10,000 in cash prizes to over 20
winners. The top Best in Show prize went to oil and acrylic artist,
Lena Reznik. Awards of Excellence went to Juan Francisco Adaro,
Gayle Campbell and Jamie Babula. The People’s Choice was
awarded to metal artist, David Griesmyer. The 2016 Festival poster
artist was Kathleen Broaderick, who also won an Award of Merit.
MKAF CEO Marcia Hull commented, “We couldn’t have been
more pleased with this year’s festival with wonderful weather, 6,000
attending, and we thank over 100 community volunteers staffi ng the
event. To me, the Festival is like an outdoor museum for all to admire
and purchase their own distinctive original art.”
Established in 1995, the Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation in Destin is
a not-for-profi t charitable organization founded on the beliefs of the
late Destin matriarch, Mattie Kelly, with a mission to be a champion
for cultural arts and education in Northwest Florida. The Mattie
Kelly Arts Foundation can be contacted at (850) 650-2226 or on-line
at www.mattiekellyartsfoundation.org.
photos & story by
Kay Phelan
David Bergeron
VIP Destin at Cultural Arts Village
76 | DestinMagazine.com
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