Joe Mitchell had a 40-year career in arts education. He eventually became the Visual Arts Supervisor for Polk County Schools where he encouraged the placement of art teachers in every school in the district – which is now the standard for Polk County Schools.
Under his supervision the district formed a partnership with the Polk Museum of Art (now the AGB), in which every fifth grader in the Polk County Public School district was given the opportunity to visit the museum – a program that continues today. He was also one of the earliest visual arts teachers at Harrison School for the Arts, Polk County’s only visual and performing arts high school. One of Mitchell’s most significant contributions to the Polk community was his work to establish the Mayfaire by-the-Lake Arts Festival. Mayfaire by-the-Lake, one of the most prestigious arts festivals in Florida, attracts thousands of visitors each year, enriching the local community and making an economic impact on Lakeland and the surrounding area.
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