OCEAN CITY, MD — Dec. 16, 2025 — The Art League of Ocean City and the Taustin family have presented Brandon Bell with the inaugural Cheryl M. Taustin Creative Leadership Award. The announcement was made at the Art League’s Annual Meeting & Luncheon on Dec. 11, 2025 at the Princess Royale Hotel.
The fellowship honors the late Cheryl Miller Taustin, a prominent figure in Ocean City and Berlin, who passed suddenly in 2024.
Bell is the founder and muralist behind We Are Limitless Studios headquartered in Salisbury, Md., with the mission to harness the power of public art to impact lives, inspire individuals, and fortify communities. “Beyond mere aesthetic expressions, we view murals as potent instruments for community-building and civic engagement,” their website states. “We make impactful and large-scale public art murals that empower businesses, organizations, municipalities, and the communities in which they exist.”
Murals created by Bell and his team include the “Smile” mural for the Ocean City Recreation & Parks Center, the HealthPost mural in Newark, Md., the “Warriors Live Here” mural for the City of Pocomoke, and the Baltimore Ravens “Paint the State Purple” mural at the Crown Sports Center in Fruitland.
“I am deeply honored and honestly still processing that I was selected as the first-ever recipient…,” Bell said. “Learning about Cheryl Miller Taustin moved me in a way I did not expect … As a touring cabaret singer, advocate, educator, mother, and community builder, she used her voice to uplift others, challenge injustice, and celebrate life with grace and courage.”
At the award presentation, Cole Taustin said, “Cheryl Miller Taustin knew that we are not the sum of our productivity or our job, but the strength of our integrity, creativity, and our voice. And she graced so many with hers … She made her opinions known and served as an inspiration and fierce advocate for causes that celebrate living. Cheryl advocated for graciously and peacefully living life.”
The family also presented Bell with artwork created by son Kyler Taustin entitled, “The Last Heartbeat.” The art is bisected by a printout of his mother’s final heartbeat, “symbolizing the highs and lows of a life filled with joy, equity, love, and harmony,” Taustin stated.
“It is one of the most powerful and intimate artworks I have ever encountered,” Bell said.
The Cheryl M. Taustin Creative Leadership Award recognizes artists, educators, and mentors of any arts medium who demonstrate a synchronicity with Taustin’s commitment to causes of social justice, uplifting the unheard voice, and valuing community and thought-provoking artistry. Exemplified through daring leadership, innovative viewpoints, and generative progress, fellows will carry forward Taustin’s legacy of cultivating a more beautiful and more empathetic community through the arts.
The Art League of Ocean City is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing the visual arts to the community through education, exhibits, scholarship, programs and community art projects.
