A dream in the making

Executive director of the Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation, Marcia Hull, has been working around the clock trying to make Mattie Kelly’s dreams come true.

The Destin matriarch’s life work was to bring more arts and culture to Destin. Hull and the foundation have come up with a plan to build a whole village including a state of the art amphitheatre with a sole purpose of celebrating the arts. The 52-acre piece of land near the YMCA only has about 25 buildable acres due to swamps, which if anything, means it will keep its wilderness feel. The plan for the piece on Commons Drive is for it to become a cultural compound. It has been designed and priced; it is pretty much ready to go aside from one large obstacle, raising the money.

This is where Hull steps in.

“It’s not easy asking people for money in these times,” she said. “But the worst that can happen is when they say ‘no’ ”

The plan is to build The Mattie Kelly Cultural Arts Village in three phases beginning with the amphitheatre and village green. The amphitheatre will have 1,500 covered seats under the canopy and a total capacity of 3,000 including the lawn. The first phase also includes a parking lot, concessions building and cozy backstage quarters to accommodate performers no matter how big their star status. The cost: $4 million.

The original plan came with a price tag of $5 million but Hull worked to shave it down, cutting costs wherever she could.

Hull got to work right away raising the cash, starting with sitting down and writing a million dollar challenge grant.

“I have never written a grant before, but they came out and interviewed me and we got it,” she said.

It’s a challenge grant because for every dollar Hull raises they will match it, up to a million dollars.

Hull knows that once it’s been built, it will benefit everyone — especially the people of Destin as it creates jobs. The whole region will appreciate it just as much when more musical acts come to town more often. Hull thinks the amphitheatre itself can be built before every penny of the $4 million is raised by temporarily putting off on some of the amenities and building a temporary parking lot.

“Perhaps we can get some of the bigger names in there to do a show to raise money for the rest,” she suggested.

Either way, Hull isn’t letting up.

The second phase of the compound will be a multi-purpose building creating a space for locals to gather artists’ exhibits, educational rooms for children and a sculptural garden. The last phase will be an artist live-in village — a place where artists can come to escape, create, and have an open door lifestyle, which would allow the public a front row seat to the creative process.

Aside from keeping up with Mattie’s wishes, Hull is personally passionate about the project as well. She explained how art in the community gives families a way to come together and enjoy their time concentrating on the beautiful things.

"The Mattie Kelly Cultural Arts Village will create a showcase that animates the precise movements of a ballerina, infuses the tenor and tone of a symphony performance, and enlivens the drama of a classic story,” said Patrick Ballasch, a senior designer with DAG Architects. Inc.

WANT TO HELP?

To find out how you can help Mattie Kelly’s dream become a reality and to find out how to become a member of the Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation, see www.mattiekellyartsfoundation.org