2008 Best Visual Artist
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40.61% Matt Kelley*
Others with Votes (more than one):
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When Matt Kelley moved back to Fort Wayne after college he kept hearing the same thing over and over from his friends: "Everybody was complaining about Fort Wayne and the local arts and music scene," he said. "I thought since I'd made the conscious decision to live here that I would do everything I could to make it a more artistically and culturally exciting place to be." That was 1996. Thirteen years later Kelley has achieved that goal and then some. As the much sought after owner of One Lucky Guitar, he, along with his four-person team, is a leader in the graphic arts and local music scene, designing posters and cover art for such standout talents as The B-Sharps and Possum Trot Orchestra. Kelley was also the driving force behind Embassy Theatre's sold-out rocking fundraiser, Down the Line 3, creating all the promotional materials for the successful event, and designed the limited edition posters for Robert Plant and Alison Krauss' U.S. tour in support of their Grammy award-winning album Raising Sand. Now he can add Whammy winner to his already long list of accomplishments. He beat out local favorites Terry Ratliff and Tim Brumbeloe to take the Best Visual Artist category with 40 percent of the vote. Kelley, who spends as much time with his wife, Angie, and kids, Henry and Ruby, as a wildly successful business allows, said he's proud to be the first graphic designer to take home this coveted Whammy. "I think the fact that I work with musicians probably helped me get a lot of votes," he said. "Change has come to the Whammys." (Deborah Kennedy) |
* On the ballot
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