Florida Keys Council of the Arts

The Florida Keys Council of the Arts, known as KeysArts, works out of 1100 Simonton Street in Key West and serves the whole island chain. The Monroe County Board of County Commissioners designated it the county's official Local Arts Agency in 1998 under Florida Statute 265.32, and it has operated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit since that year. It began as the Monroe Council of the Arts Corporation and took its current name in 2001.

For visitors, the most visible piece of its work is the Florida Keys Sculpture Trail. Launched in 2017, the trail places 19 large outdoor sculptures along U.S. 1 between Key West and Key Largo, all of them produced through the Art Students League of New York's Works in Public program. You can see them at Truman Waterfront Park and the airport in Key West, Mote Marine Laboratory on Summerland Key, Grimal Grove and the community park on Big Pine Key, Crane Point Hammock and The Lagoon in Marathon, the Morada Way Arts & Cultural District park and Islamorada Gardens, and the Key Largo Professional Building. The council publishes a map, so the drive down can double as a self-guided art tour.

The council also runs Art in Public Places for Monroe County, a program funded by a one percent allocation on new major county construction. That is why there is original artwork inside the Freeman Justice Center, the Key West International Airport, the Murray Nelson Government Building in Key Largo, and fire stations in Key Largo, Big Pine and Conch Key. A separate map tracks the surviving WPA-era artwork in the Keys.

Each year the council assembles the Connections Project, a mosaic mural built from nearly 400 six-inch canvases, each one painted or decorated by a different Keys artist or arts supporter. More than 300 artists take part, working in everything from oils and watercolor to beadwork and quilting, and the subjects run to local wildlife, plants, waterfront and landmarks. The finished mural goes on public display around the county, and canvases are sold to fund the council's grants to Keys artists and arts organizations.

Beyond that, the council keeps a registry of Keys artists and a directory of arts organizations and venues, and publishes the annual Gallery Guide, Culture magazine and a regional cultural calendar in print and online. Elizabeth Young is the executive director.