Tag Archives: Art Walk

It’s thought-provoking and inspiring, emotional and raw, connecting us all through the power of the written word. In celebration of National Poetry Month, Hope at Hand presents the 4th Annual Jax Poetry Fest with free community workshops and presentations by a collection of local poets, writers and spoken-word artists in . Jax Poetry Fest is an annual event produced by the North Florida nonprofit every April during National Poetry Month to inspire community-based poetry projects and engage the community. The inaugural Poetry Fest was held in 2016. Now in its fourth year, the festival has grown in terms of both …

Commentary by local artist Sherry J. Hill Imagine local artists having a liaison to the Mayor’s Office. Imagine art being used to fight blight and crime. Imagine local artists working and being paid well for their time and creativity. Imagine our city being a whole lot more beautiful. This is a dream that many local artists ponder while working “regular” jobs to pay bills. We have evolved to understand that art is an important component to creating a city with a real pulse. Many local artists are proud to point out that the best examples of our recent cultural progress, …

Courtesy of our friends at the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville Myra Oh, now a resident of Jacksonville, was born in Oakland, California and lived in the Bay Area into her early 20s.  At the age of 14, Myra enrolled in courses at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.  There she attended classes including figure drawing, fashion design, printmaking, and painting. During Myra’s senior year of high school she attended the Oxbow School, a private single semester arts school located in Napa, California. Myra enrolled in college after high school, with a focus on printmaking, but dropped out before graduating. During …

Downtown Jacksonville is no longer on the verge, but is actually undergoing a transformation. This transformation is not a rapid one, but rather the thoughtful type of renewal that it has long needed. It’s understandable if you’re cynical about it. Jacksonvillians have long heard mayoral campaign promises about downtown, but the banter has only served to turn optimism into what feels like an end-of-the-rainbow type hunt—but even the most avid skeptic can’t ignore the seeds that have begun to sprout. Downtown’s has become one of the city’s landmark recurring events. is making strides with regular events and has become a …

Friends of Hemming Park unveiled a new collaboration that will enhance our city’s central park with improvements beginning next year. has partnered with to help establish a main stage near Hogan Street. Black Sheep Restaurant Group has also plans to open a kiosk in the park’s café area near the corner of Laura and Monroe streets. “There is so much momentum building behind Downtown Jacksonville, and Hemming Park is at the heart of it,” says Jacksonville . “These announcements represent a significant investment in the future of this integral park, and will contribute to even more energy and activity for …

It was a significant milestone for the downtown core. An outdoor marketplace held one night a month has drawn 50,000 visitors to the downtown area since it began last spring. presented by , celebrated its return to on Thursday, September 17th with fresh, sustainably grown and artisan food producers, food trucks, a craft beer garden and fashion trucks hosted downtown. Opened on the heels of One Spark in April 2014, Jaxsons Night Market has grown into the most exciting event held monthly downtown since began over 10 years ago. Founders of Jaxsons Night Market sought to create a signature reoccurring …

The incorporated in 1859, two short years before the Civil War began and destroyed much of its nascent commercial district. Development was a long and slow process for the remainder of the century, often driven more by outside capital than the local sawmill and lumber trade. In 1868, local citizens successfully lobbied the to construct a school for black youth. Stanton Institute opened the following year. The Board of Trustees christened it “the best school building in the state.” At the same time, northern capitalists financed the construction of the , the fanciest of several downtown hotels catering to a …

  and are presenting the inaugural at Hemming Park in downtown Jacksonville on Saturday, August 15, 2015 from 6-9pm. This event is being held as a fundraiser to benefit the , a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Surprisingly, it will be the first major beer festival to be hosted in Hemming Park. While craft brews have played an important role in many of the events that have recently taken place there, beer has never been the primary feature of an outdoor festival in the park. With the inception of the Hemming Park Beer Festival, this omission has been rectified. The organizers will …