Cultural council highlights mural, scholarships and arts grants in county outreach meeting

Representatives of the county and the local cultural council used the outreach meeting to spotlight recent arts investments and public‑art projects intended to boost community identity and tourism.

Daniel Anderson, who said he chairs the county cultural council, described renewed cooperation across cities and a successful round of student scholarships: $50,000 distributed in $5,000 awards. He also described the 'turtle trail' public‑art program and said the council now oversees several grant pools, including a $100,000 arts, culture and history fund and $25,000 in destination development grants administered for local projects.

Commissioner Krisha Richardson highlighted a new mural by Brooke Page on a building near the old courthouse in Bunnell and relayed a personal anecdote about the artwork’s local impact: she said a child with autism who had not spoken before walked up to the mural and, "his first word at 3 years old was, wow, because of this." The speakers said the mural celebrates Flagler County’s protected lands and wildlife and cited work to preserve Big Cypress Swamp Reserve and other parcels.

Council representatives invited residents to a member social and a vault tour at the new museum in the old courthouse in Bunnell, and flagged other community events such as the spring festival and a songwriters festival run in part by council volunteers. No formal commission action or vote on grants was recorded during the meeting; speakers encouraged interested residents to consult the council’s website for membership and grant application details.