Honoring Mattie Kelly’s Legacy

Marcia Hull fosters appreciation for the arts

Kansas Pitts Marcia Hull

In 1998, Marcia Hull didn’t know she’d find her calling in life by stumbling upon a Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation fundraising event. Enamored by the appeal of a nonprofit work environment after spending her years working in real estate, resort hospitality and public relations, Hull simply asked if the foundation was looking for a director. Two weeks and an interview before 17 board members later, Hull had landed the job in which she has thrived for nearly 17 years and counting.

She credits her love of the arts to her parents, who enriched her childhood with cultural experiences. Though raised on the Emerald Coast, Hull’s family frequently traveled due to her father’s career. Hull recalls a trip to see the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall in New York as an event that significantly shaped her fondness for the arts at an early age, inspiring her to seek out more of these events.

“I actually took tap and ballet, and had seven years of piano lessons, but today I have absolutely no artistic ability,” Hull laughs. What she lacks in aptitude, she makes up for in appreciation. “I understand the benefits of art. I think there’s so much diversity in it, whether you like jazz or rock ’n’ roll, or whether you prefer abstract or watercolor paintings. You’re just looking at something that someone’s turned from a blank canvas into something that can mesmerize people.” »

As proclaimed “champion of cultural arts in Northwest Florida,” the Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation of Destin has been coloring the area with art education programs, concerts and festivals since 1995. It is providing the community — especially children — artistic exposure that drives Hull as the organization’s CEO to collaborate with a board of 22 all-volunteer directors and 300 other volunteer members of the foundation.

“Our new education initiative for the organization is that we are empowering all through arts and culture,” Hull says, positive that the “All Kinds of Art” program is truly the heart of their endeavors. “What I mean by all is that we are expanding the populations we are serving in our community. We do programs in the Okaloosa and Walton County School districts that we fund one hundred percent. We’ve done private Christian schools, and even reached out to at-risk or low income schools via the United Way.” Most recently, MKAF has reached out to students and adults with special needs with a music mentoring program.

Outside of making leaps and bounds within different school systems, you can find Hull coordinating events at the Mattie Kelly Cultural Arts Village in Destin. This 7-acre, grassy venue is home to frequent “Concerts in the Village.” On Oct. 29 and 30, the green will host the 21st annual Festival of the Arts. Each year, over 100 artists from all over the United States — and one artist from Europe — display their work in tents and compete for a $10,000 prize. Hull believes this not only provides a cultural experience for the community, but also a venue to showcase the unique talent the festival attracts.

A joiner who knows the value of networking, Hull participates in the Economic Development Council, Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club of Destin.

“I just love our community,” Hull says. “I know that the organization was founded on Mattie Kellie’s beliefs, and she was a part of one of the pioneer families here. She believed in art and education. Her spiritual and cultural values are still making a difference.”

As the voice of the Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation and a dedicated community activist, Marcia Hull is keeping the spirit of those principles alive and well.