Arts and Culture Nassau Brings Murals to Hilliard
Hilliard Parks Building
Murals Show Area History
Murals Show Area History
Here are two images of the mural that Arts and Culture Nassau sponsored and is now finished at The Hilliard parks building . We partnered with the foundation, Hearts for Minds- www.hearts4minds.org, who designed and painted the mural. This foundation provides the assistance in return for placing a QR code in the mural that speaks to the community about mental health and how they support and offer resources and information for care and related mental health issues.
Murals Show Area History
Murals Show Area History
Murals Show Area History
The community was surveyed for their ideas. School arts students also participated. The images are historic ones of the old town bldgs., and there is a nod to the Hilliard traffic control aviation terminal. This project was a desire in town when I first met them 2 years ago but they didn't know how to go about it. I introduced Arts and Culture Nassau, our organization- they of course never heard of us, and from there I put together the players as well as a small grant to get it started.
Arts and Culture in The News
Current News
Arts and Culture Nassau worked with the County at the past Vision 2050 event at Wildlight and now has a showcase of children's art at the Nassau County J. Paige Yulee office complex. In the photo is Richard Restiano, Chair of Arts and Culture Nassau, and Paris T. Hall, a college intern working with Brandy Carvalho in the Nassau County Planning Department.
WESTSIDE JOURNAL March 28, 2024
Arts and Culture Nassau and the Town of Hilliard partnered with the foundation, Hearts for Minds (www.hearts4minds.org), who designed and painted the mural. This foundation provides the assistance in return for placing a QR code in the mural that speaks to the community about Mental Health and how they support and offer resources and information for care and related mental health issues. Arts and Culture Nassau is a 17-year old best kept secret in Nassau County. During its original formation by the County in 2007 they took the arts council on Fernandina Beach and made them the Arts and Culture Nassau group with the explicit dictate that they represent the entire county. Well, that didn't work out very well except for Callahan and the Westside Historical Society. “After leading the group for the last 3 years, I decided that if the only source of revenue was going to be from the sale of the State of the Arts license plate, then this organization cannot meet the mission,” continued Restiano. “We were not allowed as a City Commission to accept donations, apply for grants or get any funding from the city. Since we were staffed by the City of Fernandina Beach Parks and Rec Department and because of the Florida Sunshine Laws, this only complicated the ability we had to make a difference.” The new 3-year-plan called for Arts and Culture to have 4 strategies: Sustainability; Relevance county-wide, Impact and Awareness. Ultimately the board decided in December to dissolve the city maintain commission and create a nonprofit 501 (c) 3.
YULEE NEWS
Arts and Culture Nassau Goes Nonprofit- April 12, 2024
According to a recent development with the City of Fernandina Beach, Yulee may see more art. At least, that’s what the chairman of the County Commission for Arts and Culture Nassau has in mind.
Representative Richard Restiano has been instrumental in creating a nonprofit organization that will better provide the entire county with artistic and cultural opportunities. Last month, the city voted to dissolve the board in favor of an umbrella group that handles 25 nonprofit entities with extended reach from “Callahan to Ft. Clinch.” The organization also intends to provide more funding opportunities for projects.
“Last year, I spoke to people from Yulee, including Wildlight, and it became clear they were looking at over 30,000 more people living there in the next few years,” Restiano said. “Wildlight didn’t have a plan for arts and culture, and FSCJ didn’t have a theatre. I decided that if we were going to be a successful organization, the entire county needed to be represented, including Yulee.”
Namely, Restiano has partnered with Angie McClellan of the Yulee History Society to envision a park to preserve the area’s rich historical foundation.
Additionally, the area could see mural work, like Hillard’s recent addition to their Parks building. Recently, Arts and Culture Nassau developed the mural with the help of the Hearts for Minds Foundation, which placed a QR code in exchange for funding. The code is embedded in the mural, speaks to the community about mental health, and offers resources. A phone scan can also provide information on care and related mental health issues.
According to Restiano, the community should also feature a theatre to elevate Yulee’s cultural scene. Many communities use this space as a hub for artistic pursuits, and he believes Yulee would benefit significantly from it.
“The newfound support will increase the prospect of infrastructure needs for performance and theater experiences Midcounty,” Restiano said. “Arts and cultural activity happen in many kinds of places, not just museums and theaters. It must expand and be county-wide. It is the primary way communities preserve and celebrate their culture and heritage.
About Us
What We Do
The mission of Arts and Culture Nassau, as part of Nassau Council of Arts and Culture, Inc. a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit corporation, is to support, promote and enhance the Arts in Nassau County; to provide an Arts Leaders Forum to network and address common concerns among art and cultural organizations throughout Nassau County; to provide advocacy for the arts in the State and County; to provide education to arts organizations leadership; and to provide a vision for needed infrastructure mid county.
We support and facilitate cooperation and communication among those organizations in bi-annual meetings and communications.
To visit the State of Florida Arts and Culture site CLICK HERE
2024 Board Members:
- Richard Restiano- President
- Paige Forey- VP & Board Chair
- Toni D'Amico- Treasurer
- John Abbott- At large County
By Supporting Us, you support the arts organizations that you love.
For us to support the grant programs and to help local Nassau County 501 (c) (3) art and culture organizations, we rely on the proceeds generated by residents purchasing and displaying the Florida "State of the Arts" license plate on their vehicles. (Pictured at right). These plates are available at the local county vehicle registration offices. The County then funds our organization from the sale and renewal of these license plates. You can get your own plate at the vehicle registration office near you.
Thank you!
Nassau County vehicle registration locations: Information- 904-491-7400
- Historic Courthouse, 416 Centre St., Fernandina Beach, 32034
- 86130 License Road, Fernandina Beach, 32034
- 450077 State Road 200, Suite #13, Callahan, FL, 32011
- 15885 County Road 108, Hilliard, FL 32046
Grants Programs
There are 2 Grant programs, one for
senior programs and one for youth programs.
SENIOR PROGRAMS: Arts & Culture Nassau (ACN) grant program is intended to foster appreciation of and participation in arts and culture for the senior citizens of Nassau County. It is our belief that fostering arts and culture appreciation among Nassau County citizens will benefit the quality of life for all Nassau County residents. Grants are designed to encourage new projects that serve the senior citizen population of Nassau County or to expand an existing program.
Click here to get the Senior Application in Downloads section below
YOUTH PROGRAMS -GRANTS OPEN NOV.15 TO DEC. 15
The Youth grant program is intended to encourage participation and appreciation in arts and culture for the youth of Nassau County creating a lifelong enjoyment of the arts and the culture they grew up in.
In both cases these grants are designed for Nassau County residents and for projects and programs within Nassau County.
Click here to get the youth program application below in Downloads section below.
PREVIOUS GRANT RECIPIENTS
Blue Fire Theatre; Arts Alive; AI Jazz Festival; AI Book Festival; AI Chamber Music Festival; AI Dance Festival; West Nassau Historical Society; Island Art Association
Our Organizations
Arts and Culture Organizations
These are the organizations that we support. Click on each site to see their current events.
Amelia Community Theatre- ameliacommunitytheatre.org
Amelia Island Book Festival-
Literacy | Amelia Island Book Festival | Florida
Amelia Island Jazz Festival-ameliaislandjazzfestival.com
Amelia Island Museum of History-ameliamuseum.org
Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival-ameliachambermusic.org
Amelia Musical Playhouse- ameliamusicalplayhouse.com
Friends of the Nassau County Library-fernandinafol.org
Island Art Association-islandart.org
West Nassau Historical Society-wnhsfl.org
Amelia Island Singers- ameliaislandsingers.com
Amelia Island Quilt Guild-ameliaquilters.org
Amelia Island Writers Assoc.-ameliaislandwriters.org
Amelia Island Dance Festival-ameliaislanddancefestival.org
Arts Alive Nassau-artsalivenassau.org
Amelia Island Opera-ameliaislandopera.org
Blue Fire Theatre-bluefiretheatre.org
Country Star Quilters-countrystarquilters.org
Story and Song Center for Arts and Culture- StoryandSongArts.org
Friends of Fort Clinch- fortclinch.org
Friends of American Beach- friendsofamericanbeach.org
Yulee Historic Council- https://www.facebook.com/groups
Pirates Club of Fernandina Beach- fernandinapirates.com
North East FL Fair- www.neflfair.org
* To be supported by Arts and Culture Nassau the organization must be in Nassau County and offer services open to the public. They must also be a not-for-profit 501 (c) (3) organization
OUR CULTURE
A brief History and list of Historical Markers
There's much to see here in Nassau County. So, take your time, look around, and learn all there is to know about our culture.
To read a brief history of Nassau County-
To see a list and learn the locations of historical markers click below-
Volunteer
Arts & Culture Organizations Always Need Volunteers.
Have you always wanted to work backstage at a concert? Act in a play? Lead a history tour? Meet a Famous author? Teach children a musical instrument? Assist with a dance, choir, opera, or chamber music group? All of our listed organizations are run by community volunteers who use their acquired skills and talents to become leaders of organizations. You may have some of these skills and talents and they would love to have you join them.
All our supported organizations listed above need you! Volunteers help continue the work that makes Nassau County such a wonderful place to live and spend your time working in the arts or culture organizations that you have always appreciated. Volunteering is a wonderful way to meet interesting and like-minded people, try new things, and give back to the community. It can be hard work, but it is so rewarding and yes, fun!
Why not get started today? Just click on the link to anyone of our organizations listed above, covering all the arts, history, music, library, galleries and so much more. Once on their webpage sign up. You won't regret it.
