Fran Decker, a board member with the Anne McKee Artists Fund, joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM yesterday morning to talk about the organization.
The Anne McKee Artists Fund was established in 1992 after its founder, Anne McKee, saw a pressing need to assist individual artists from Key West.
Decker said, “We hold a yearly auction every year to raise money, and then that money goes right back into artist grants. And over the 31 years that we’ve been doing this, we’ve raised over $425,000 and given grants to over 400 artists.”
The fine art auction will be held today at the Studios of Key West at 4:15 p.m.
Decker said, “Please come early and have some champagne. We’ve got Bobby Nesbitt and Carmen Rodriguez entertaining you while you look at the art and figure out which piece you want to go home with. And then Phil Amsterdam and I will be running the auction. I’m going to talk about the art, and he’s going to take care of the bidding, and he’s a wonderful auctioneer. You’re going to have a fun time and go home with some beautiful art. We have lots of local artists. We’ve got oil, acrylic, watercolor sculpture. We even have a turtle made out of coconuts.”
Nine pieces have already been sold in advance.
Decker said, “But don’t worry, we still have lots of fabulous art left. When you get a grant to help your project, then it’s an easy thing to give back to the program, because you see just how far your art goes. Also, this is different than a lot of art auctions. The artist who donates a piece, they get 50% that’s what they would get normally if they had their artwork in one of the beautiful galleries on Duval Street, so the artist is having a guaranteed sale plus raising money for the community.”
Grant applications will begin for the artists on March 1.
Decker said, “We encourage artists in all sorts of fields, not just visual art. We give out awards to literary projects. We have a fabulous performance art package. So we want artists in all areas to apply for the grants. If you are worried that you have too much art already and need space, in April, we have another program called Art from the Attic, and that is when we’re asking you, the public, to donate art you no longer want, and once again, we will auction it off. It’s a silent auction kind of thing, and that raises more money for the artist grant. So don’t worry about having too much art. You can always pass along the ones you’re tired of. We split the funds with the Women’s Club because they very kindly host our Art from the Attic display.”
For more information, click here: https://www.mckeefund.org/