11/09/2026
Martin Arts Executive Director Nancy Turrell presented updates on upcoming events, financial challenges, and long-term facility plans.
The Martin Arts Awards on Sunday, November 15 at the Lyric Theater honors students in the performing, literary, and visual arts, plus adult professionals and lifetime achievement recipients. Arts Fest, running since 1988, is expanding their entertainment offerings and raising general admission ticket prices from $5 to $10. The Art of Food and W**e is a special culinary event in partnership with the Treasure Coast W**e Fest. The Friday kickoff event at The Grove will feature exclusive wines and food from The Grove.
At the Courthouse Cultural Center, a new exhibition is opening November 13th in partnership with the National Association of Women Artists and the Florida Everglades Foundation and focuses on Florida ecosystem fragility.
Martin Arts took over the Art for Living calendar from Helping People Succeed. The 13-month calendar launched October 27th, priced at $25 ($40 signed) and is available at the Courthouse Cultural Center and a dozen-plus locations in the area.
Amendment 3 poses a significant financial threat — the county's $70,000 annual management agreement for the historic Courthouse Cultural Center expires September 30, 2027, and that funding is at risk, representing a major portion of Martin Arts' ~$100,000 budget.
The historic Stuart High School remains the long-term solution: a $20M phased renovation starting with two 1950s classroom buildings, targeting a more self-sustaining earned-income model with studios, classrooms, theater space, and a gift shop. Negotiations with the school board shifted from lease to lease-to-purchase to outright sale. Martin Arts is now securing pledges to submit an offer below appraised value, citing community arts education value comparable to the Environmental Studies Center model. Operating and maintenance costs for the Stuart High School building have been preliminarily scoped; engineers confirmed strong structural bones, though the 100-year-old rear building will be assessed during phase one renovations.
Arts education in Martin County schools currently includes art and music teachers at every level, but enrollment and hiring challenges are beginning to erode that coverage for the first time.
For more information, www.martinarts.org
