Too often a line is drawn between art that is sometimes considered “low-brow” —illustration—and “high-brow”—fine art. Local designer and illustrator Michael Slayton is working to blur the divide with “Fine Lines,” an exhibit featuring six local visual artists who straddle that rule between illustration and fine art. Slayton has had his hand (and pencil) in all things Jacksonville (you might recognize his giant illustrations lining the walls of the Cummer Museum where he served as the art director). Always working for the greater good of the community, he now designs for Feeding Northeast Florida but has also illustrated for businesses …

How the Inflation Reduction Act will reach Florida’s communities On Aug. 18, a substantial piece of legislation was signed into law, the Inflation Reduction Act (aka the IRA Bill) or, as President Biden called it: “the biggest step forward on climate ever.” The bill invests $370 billion in spending and tax credits aiming to reduce health costs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and raise taxes on corporations. The U.S. is finally taking a legitimate swing in the fight against climate change. Though it didn’t meet original expectations, it’s putting us on course to reduce our own pollution which is good for …

Self-published work pushes through the clutter of ‘likes’ by way of hands, not thumbs Before hopping on the phone with creators of Duval Comic and Zine Fest (DCAZ Fest)  to get the scoop on the previously postponed event happening in the Jacksonville Main Public Library on Oct. 22, I spent a brief period in the library’s Zine Zone. Lined chronologically on the wall, skinny pamphlets of neon blue and pink poked out of the sea of preserving plastic baggies. Unsure of the content due to the lack of a spine on most of the publications, I grabbed one at random, …

Always working to bring cool music to Jacksonville, Winterland Presents teamed up with JAXNext100 and The Jessie DuPont Ball Center to host a night of music, kicking off with a sound bath meditation in the Great Hall, The Jessie’s alleyway. Where there’s good music, there are good outfits, and this crowd did not disappoint with some of Jacksonville’s most electric creatures making an appearance. Dirty sludge-rockers, Florida Smash Hits, opened the show with a grueling one-song set. The trio has been playing music together for years, changing their band name on a show-by-show basis, this could’ve been the first and …

Four local artists seek to answer three questions—Where has Jacksonville been? Where are we now? And where are we heading?—for JAXNext100, a week of creativity and collaboration envisioning Jacksonville’s next 100 years. The collaborative exhibition, “Past, Present, Future,” on display at The Corner Gallery at the Jessie DuPont Ball Center, showcases the minds and talents of artists Dustin Harewood, Malcolm Jackson, Toni Smailagic and Jordan Walter. The Bold New City of The South street sign, built for the photo featuruing Nicole Hamm and BeBe Deluxe, hangs on the outward facing wall behind the glass of the gallery, viewable to all …

*Update from JEA: In some cases in the list of top 10 water customers, JEA corrected the customer’s balance due to a leak or plumbing issue. There also are a few properties that reflect high usage due to reclaimed water usage. Reclaimed water is highly treated wastewater. Customers who use reclaimed water for their irrigation help conserve water drawn from the Floridan aquifer, the source of our local drinking water.* The blue marble we know as Earth has an abundant amount of water, 71% of its surface is covered in the wet stuff. Unfortunately for our very delicate species, 91% …

Words by Rain Henderson & Joseph Guiffre Winding through the live oak lined backroads a dozen miles southeast of Gainesville, the bright Florida summer sun beats down. The light illuminates the old houses and chicken coops we pass, miles from the hustle and bustle. Finally we take a turn down a dirt road across from an idyllic cow pasture framed by tall symmetrical palms. The shade of the woodlands is welcoming and so is the tall, smiling, plainly dressed man waiting at the gate. Over the past two or three years people have been confronting their own mortality more than …

“Picture the center of the Earth, picture your spine and feet firmly grounded, picture a light beam connecting you into the ground, connecting you to the roots of all life. Breathe in the connection of all human beings, breathe out injustice.” David Jameson opened his discussion with this short meditation before diving into the lives of enslaved women during a lunch and learn event at MOCA Jacksonville. Acknowledging that a woman might be better suited to speak on the subject, Jameson read book excerpts and interviews from enslaved women rather than pushing his own ideologies on artist Kara Walker’s intense …

A swig of something saccharine Though Shirley Temple denied having anything to do with kid-friendly drink bearing her name (she actually hated the “saccharine sweet, icky drink”), the sparkling, red mocktail has been delighting little ones since the 1930s. Since then, the childhood favorite has been tainted with a helping of vodka and dubbed the Dirty Shirley. A recent New York Times piece dubbed the Dirty Shirley “the drink of the summer,” only for The New Yorker to bash it in their 100 tips for restaurants stating “no one over the age of 22 should be ordering one.” Shame on …

Tacky:Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer by Rax King After a recent deep dive into all things Chuck Klosterman, the American essayist who focuses on popular culture, I became unsure if it was his constant mansplaining or my partner’s sudden crack-like addiction to his books that suddenly turned me off. Luckily for me, I have many pals who consume books at an ungodly rate and are always willing to give suggestions, so I found myself with a copy of Tacky: Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer by Rax King. King is the …