Mattie May Kelly 1912 – 1992

Established in 1995, the Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation (MKAF), a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable arts organization, was founded on the cultural, educational and spiritual beliefs of Destin matriarch Mattie Kelly. A native Floridian, Mattie studied at Rollins College before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Florida State University. Her commitment to learning led her to additional studies at Columbia University’s AB College of Arts and Science, Harvard Summer School, and Okaloosa-Walton Junior College (now Northwest Florida State College).

In 1935, she and her husband, Coleman Lee Kelly, moved to Destin with their five children. As one of the town’s founding families, they purchased acres of pristine forest along Choctawhatchee Bay and what is now Destin Harbor. Though they began as turpentine farmers, Mattie and Coleman soon established themselves as prominent local business owners and philanthropists, and are widely credited with pioneering Destin’s tourism and fishing industries.

Mattie Kelly was a lifelong patron of the arts, supporting arts organizations through her participation and financial gifts. She shared her own artistic expression by writing a book of poems, playing piano and organ, and composing music regularly. Today, MKAF remains firmly committed to Mattie Kelly’s vision of making the cultural arts available to all in Northwest Florida.