FC3, Flagler's state-recognized local arts agency, celebrated its fifth anniversary at the Oct. 1 annual meeting.
“Wow.”
That was the first word ever spoken a 3-year-old nonverbal child with autism recently, and it was inspired by public art: the new Highwaymen-inspired mural in downtown Bunnell, painted by artist Brook Page.
Ed Siarkowicz, president of the Flagler County Historical Society, told the story to conclude the annual meeting of the Flagler County Cultural Council, held Oct. 1, at the Palm Coast Community Center.
“If one piece of art can make a child speak for the first time, what's it going to do for everybody else?” Siarkowicz said.
Twenty-one more murals are planned, he reported. The one in Bunnell is 1,100 square feet and was designed by R.L. Lewis.
Commentary on public art was also the way FC3 Chair Danielle Anderson ended the meeting. She said the organization, which is the state-recognized local arts agency, receives about $3,000 annually from the state, thanks to art-focused license plate revenue. Now, the board of FC3 has agreed to use that money to launch the Tom Gargiulo Art in Public Places Grant Program.
The late Gargiulo, whose foundation also selected a Flagler County Artist of the Year from 2000 to 2021, was one of the most influential artists — and patrons of the arts — in the county during that time.
Anderson advocated for the new program on the board.
“I really felt, personally, that it was important, because Tom was such an influential person in our arts community for decades that we needed to recognize him,” she said in an interview before the meeting.
She recalled those years as the “heyday” of arts in the community. Since then, galleries have closed, and the Flagler County Art League disbanded.
In the future, Anderson expects that there will be a process for a patron of the arts to apply for a Gargiulo grant and help create more art in public places, such as a mural in Bunnell or a statue in Palm Coast. Gargiulo was instrumental in the placement of Paul Baliker's panther statue at the east end of Linear Park, as well as the herons in flight, at Waterfront Park.
“People should have access to art, no matter what your socioeconomic status is,” Anderson said. “And Tom made sure that that happened, and he made sure that artists who were struggling had money to make it so that people could come and enjoy that art, and I think we should be doing that in Palm Coast.”
Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center Director Craig Uppercue also supports the idea.
“We need to make sure that there is art in our community, because we're a product of our surroundings,” he said.
Also at the meeting, FC3 Board of Directors member Lawson Glasergreen announced an upcoming oral history project, in cooperation with Daytona State College.
The FC3 Board of Directors is as follows: Chair Danielle Anderson, Vice Chair Denise Garcia, Treasurer Julia Truilo; Directors Ken Bryan, Greg Feldman, Lawson Glasergreen, Priscilla Humay, Jay Scherr, Sarah Ulis, Kathy Wilcox; and Ex-officio members Pam Richardson, Theresa Pontieri, Catherine Robinson, Scott Spradley, Julia Walthall and Debra Morgan.