Art & Culture
Whitney Oldenburg: left behind
Edited by Amber Sesnick, Director of Communications, Arts UNF Photos by Elisabeth Bernstein A dynamic emerging sculptor who grew up here in Jacksonville but is now working out of New York, Whitney Oldenburg has cultivated a deeply reflective practice examining the relationships we build with everyday items. Her exhibition “Whitney Oldenburg: left behind” is on view through April 19 at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Jacksonville. MOCA’s team had the pleasure of speaking with Oldenburg, the 2025 recipient of the Eden Arts...
read moreSmall Businesses With a Big Mission
There are a variety of health and wellness facilities and businesses in Northeast Florida. Degree Wellness offers an effective range of recovery and wellness services such as cryotherapy, infrared saunas, IV drips, and compression therapy in one luxurious space with private suites. Be Still Float is a wellness center that aims to help those suffering from anxiety, stress, pain, and incontinence through float therapy, emsella, MLS laser therapy, and massage therapy. Row House in San Marco provides full-body group fitness classes that are...
read morePublisher’s Note
Spring is here—the time of year that beckons us to get outside and enjoy the outdoors and fresh air while walking, exploring, and much more. All just in time to check out the newest parks and trail connections downtown and along the river. WHERE THE RIVER LEADS Downtown Jacksonville’s parks and trails are living works of civic art. Our city center is in the midst of a generational design movement—one that treats parks and trails not as passive green space, but as active civic infrastructure and works of public art. Across the Northbank...
read moreThe Conversation: Kimberly Noble
George W. and Kathleen I. Gibbs Director & CEO Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens You’re a Jacksonville native stepping into leadership of one of the city’s most beloved cultural institutions. How has growing up here shaped your connection to the museum and its mission? Growing up in Jacksonville, the Cummer Museum has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. Like so many in this community, I have deeply personal memories tied to both the gardens and the galleries. As a child, I visited on school field trips, and...
read moreNa’Zir McFadden Jacksonville Symphony Assistant Conductor
Photo: ©Andrej Grilc Audience connection is at the heart of your work. From the podium, how do you create those powerful moments of connection? I try to create moments that feel personal and alive—where the orchestra and audience breathe together. It’s about honesty and presence, letting the music unfold naturally so everyone feels part of the same journey. When that connection happens, the performance becomes something shared, not just witnessed. Your career has already seen impressive milestones at such an early stage. Is there one moment...
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Hello 2026! With a new year brings hope. Hope for the new year elevates feelings we experience when we foresee a path to a better future. At the moment, with rising health care costs looming, many are feeling hopeless. For those concerned, feeling frustrated, or feeling hopeless, we wish you good health and the strength to cope. Enhancing Education With The Arts The arts play a pivotal role in education. Involvement in the arts supports a student’s social and emotional learning and empowers them to succeed inside school and...
read more35 Years of Art Ventures at The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida
By Laura Jane Pittman If you have visited the Jacksonville REI lately, you may have admired the North Florida park posters displayed near the check-out counter that are modeled after 1930s-era national park posters of old. These are the brainchild of Kathy Stark, a local artist who was recently recognized with the 2025 Ann McDonald Baker Art Ventures Award by The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida. A Jacksonville native, Stark has specialized in fine art, mainly oils, watercolors and acrylics, of North...
read moreEnhancing Education With The Arts
The arts play a pivotal role in education. Involvement in the arts supports a student’s social and emotional learning and empowers them to succeed inside school and out. Not only do arts programs motivate children to come to school, but they also help reduce stress, sharpen communication, and fuel social and emotional development. Jacksonville is fortunate to have a wealth of arts education programs across all art forms that allow our students to not only learn how to express themselves in the classroom but support their future career growth....
read moreSuccess in Love & Art How Creative Couples in Jacksonville Achieve Both
Compiled by Cinda Sherman Love and marriage are two of the most perplexing subjects ever debated in human history. For instance, the Greek philosopher Plato declared, “At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet.” Yet the curmudgeonly English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge said, “The most happy marriage I can picture would be the union of a deaf man to a blind woman.” So, what makes a relationship work? The answer, to most, is self-evident: Relationships are work, period. They are risky investments that can bring about life’s most astonishing...
read more2025 Shop Local Gift Guide
Here are ways to make shopping for gifts this holiday season feel super festive. Our beloved independent local businesses need our support. In thinking of things to make your dearest people smile, let’s try to shop our values and make our community smile as well. Each year, Arbus Magazine presents our Shop Local Gift Guide so that you can see what locally owned businesses are offering and be inspired to enjoy shopping for gifts. Enjoy browsing through the following pages and soak in the tradition and sparkle of the season. Be safe, be...
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