Art & Culture Features
MOCA Jax Celebrates 100 Years
of Celebrating Art, Artists, & Ideas By Amber Sesnick, Director of Communications & Marketing at MOCA Jacksonville January 2024 is the launch of a year of celebration that marks a significant point in the history for our fine city and reaches beyond local impact into the history of art and culture in our country. The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Jacksonville celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2024, holding the distinction of being the first visual arts organization in the city of Jacksonville, as well as the oldest art...
read moreScotie Cousin
Artist—Cousin’S Critters Photo: Laird How do you envision your critters? What is the inspiration? Let’s start with God first. Because He’s just kind of telling me what to do. He has really supercharged the creative gray matter between my ears. Sometimes it just flows out so effortlessly. I don’t do any specific species, mainly. I get a lot of people asking me to do a dolphin or a shark and I still love doing that, but what I really love is not knowing what I’m going to do next. And then what happens is I go, “Wow,...
read moreNew Exhibit Remembers the Past Speaks to the Present.
By Caryl Butterley The LJD Jewish Family & Community Services (JFCS) is an organization rooted in the Jewish tradition of tikkun olam or “repairing the world.” JFCS puts this into practice through its many social service programs, including child welfare, financial assistance, mental health counseling, senior services, and so much more. At the heart of the agency stands the Frisch Family Holocaust Memorial Gallery, a space dedicated to remembering the six million Jews who perished during the Holocaust and as a place for...
read moreLillian Blades: Fragmental Reflections
Thru November 1 My artistic journey revolves around the exploration of connections—how elements relate to one another aesthetically and structurally. This tactile way of making invites introspection, evokes emotion, and offers a unique pathway to self-discovery, ultimately tethering the viewer to the timeless tapestry of human experience. I investigate the profound nature of these experiences and their impact on our perception. This body of work showcases visually compelling pieces comprised of mirrors and a labyrinth of meticulously woven...
read moreDay Dreamers
Exhibiting at MOCA Jacksonville thru January 14th, 2024 Where does your mind wander when you daydream? Everybody enjoys envisioning who they hope to become, activities they aspire to do, and places they wish to explore. In fact, daydreaming can be a useful tool for relieving stress and a welcome respite for children and teenagers confined to the hospital. This collection of artwork offers insight into the imaginations of 20 pediatric patients receiving medical care from Wolfson Children’s Hospital. Whether they picture themselves as a...
read moreDragons & Pagodas
By Janet Reagor Sixteenth century Europeans envisioned the Far East as mysterious—even mythological—a fascinating and wonderous place inhabited by strange creatures, marvelous flora, exotic people, and incredible architecture. With travel nearly nonexistent, the few who visited offered sparse bits about culture, art, and lifestyle, leaving Westerners to let their imaginations soar. As Chinese marvels trickled into Europe in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, a stir began. Then around 1603 the Dutch East India Company captured a...
read moreLive Better, Longer
Well-being is a buzzword in our current culture. Yet, when asked what well-being looks like for individuals, people tend to pause. It’s been elusive to define without focusing heavily on diet and exercise. Yet, more and more, studies are revealing that diet and exercise are only pieces of the larger puzzle of well-being. One organization championing this philosophy of living better, longer with a more comprehensive approach is Blue Zones Project Jacksonville. Learn more about how Blue Zones Project Jacksonville can improve your...
read moreProject Atrium: Rowland Ricketts
Edited by Amber Sesnick, Director of Communications & Marketing, MOCA Jacksonville During the 26 years Rowland Ricketts has been working with indigo, he has created many large-scale installations in locations around the world. Indigo dye is an organic compound used to create a distinctive blue color in fibers and fabrics and has been used throughout the world in many traditions. Ricketts has cultivated his own practice over many years, developing a farm to gallery methodology that is as important to the final product as the aesthetic of...
read moreNatalie McCray-Krauz on Creating the Arbus 30th Anniversary Cover
By Madeleine Peck Wagner a whisper gathers more attention than a shout Sometimes, and always when least expected, my phone buzzes and in comes an image of wit and inventiveness that makes my day. That this image will often inflame my own imagination is, I think a testament to artist, art director, and designer Natalie McCray-Krauz’s extraordinary ability to transform the most mundane of objects into objects of desire and veneration. The whole she creates is always more than the sum of its parts. Recent...
read moreJacksonville Children’s Chorus
Filling the Heart of Our City with Song By Susan D. Brandenburg Just as he passionately directs each member of the Jacksonville Children’s Chorus (JCC) with care and concern, President and Artistic Director Darren Dailey has been intimately instrumental in helping to design the chorus’s spectacular new downtown headquarters. “This wonderful space would not have been possible without the support of VyStar Credit Union and our generous donors,” says Dailey, as he conducts a tour of the new headquarters, designed by Dasher Hurst...
read more
