Expounding the Pavement with Heartbeat of the Bold City Founder Jessica Pounds

A little over 100 years ago, downtown Jacksonville was on fire. Now we use that teachable moment as an advertising campaign to implore residents of our geographically expansive community to venture downtown and breathe in the culture. Jessica Pounds has been instrumental (forgive the inevitable musician pun) in the application of physical presence, cooperative engagement, and creative solutions to proliferate participation in the arts for Jacksonville residents.

Social media is crucial to manage and maintain interests in an environment where oversaturation barely laps the shores of our consciousness. Global concerns, work obligations, lunch; social media can be a calendar, promoter, oracle in which we guide our choices in our diminishing free time. The wonder of Heartbeat of the Bold City is the challenge of bringing people back face-to-face with creators actively engaged in their craft. While many claim to be readers, reading is by and large a solitary retreat, occasionally an impetus to communicate with someone else reading or interested in the same work. Take that diversion and turn it into an outdoor reading, where you can you witness the nuanced enunciation of the writer and the off-beat laughter of the audience, and that’s a totally different experience. Utilizing the physical environment of downtown Jacksonville peppered with MOCA, Barnett, FSCJ, and of course, Hemming Park, the venues and the patrons are making good on Jessica’s vision, “Small attainable goals in areas that make sense.”

All growth is not without challenges, which is part of the joy of Jacksonville and its vast arts community. Jessica relates a story of youthful wandering in the wake of the Superbowl’s visit and glimmer at national exposure. Touring the East Coast, she noticed that Jacksonville is always “on the verge.” Other cities have their entrenched scenes, with many just maintaining a status quo, while Jacksonville has the space to nurture a scene. All that space is aching to be filled and it is more important than ever to have the cooperation and desire to serve the community that supports and is often unaware of the sheer number of musicians, writers, visual and performance artists that populate this city. As the environment has shaped many of its most passionate citizens, the desire was to create a platform where these stories could be shared and further contribute to the arts community. This spirit of challenge and ongoing work can be daunting, but Jessica says, “Refuse to see yourself the way you are treated.”

The second and fourth Thursdays of the month host a variety of what Jacksonville has to offer amid beer gardens, food trucks, and live music in Hemming Park. They have already hosted improv comedian Nick Davis and Christina Wagner, entrepreneur and musician. On the horizon we will see Jared Rypkema of Bridge Eight Literary Magazine, Alyssa Key of Main Space Jax, Producer and Host Jim Alabiso, musician Arvid Smith, Kiley Carter of Crux Collective, performance artist/MC Carl Cochrane, musician Brad Lauretti, and author Matt Colaciello, as well as many more speakers and musical acts to be announced. The diversity of talent bodes well for a vibrant tattoo on which to dance in time with the heartbeat of the bold city. Learn more about the project at heartbeatoftheboldcity.com or visit their facebook.