Art & Culture
American Made
Painting and Sculpture from the DeMell Jacobsen Collection By Holly Keris Two centuries of classic American paintings collected by local philanthropist Diane DeMell Jacobsen and now touring the country arrive at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens on June 9. “American Made: Painting and Sculpture from the DeMell Jacobsen Collection” features more than a hundred works of art. While long-time museum visitors will recognize some works from prior visits, this exhibition marks the first time a significant quantity of the...
read moreFor the Love of Gardening
By Charlie Patton According to the University of North Carolina’s Health Talk website, gardening has several “surprising health benefits.” Among them: It builds self-esteem; is good for the heart; reduces stress; makes you happy; boosts vitamin D; and leads to a healthier diet. Some of Jacksonville’s most passionate amateur horticulturists wouldn’t be surprised to hear this news, and they share their thoughts about the many rewards of gardening. Preston and Joan Haskell Joan and Preston Haskell’s gardens adorn...
read more7th Annual St. Augustine Seventh Plein Air Paint Out
The St. Augustine Art Association is pleased to host the Seventh Annual St. Augustine Plein Air Paint Out taking place throughout our historic city from April 26 to April 30. This event brings St. Augustine’s art history into present day as artists converge on the streets, committing to canvas the old-world charm of our city. The French phrase peinture en plein air translates to English as painting outdoors, and although we could say outdoor painting, en plein air sounds more elegant. Prior to the early 1800s, artists painted solely in...
read morePosing Beauty in African American Culture at the Harn
By Jade Powers Harn Museum of Art, Curator of Contemporary Art The nationally touring exhibition “Posing Beauty in African American Culture” opened at the Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida in Gainesville on January 31. More than a hundred works of art by more than 45 artists and photographers explore the ways in which African and African American beauty has been represented in historical and contemporary contexts. Throughout the history of Western art and image-making, beauty has been idealized and challenged, and the...
read moreDon’t Blame it on ZEN
The Way of John Cage AND Friends By Amber Sesnick (1912-1992), a leading voice of the post-war avant-garde, is widely regarded as one of the most provocative and influential American composers of the 20th century. But his influence reaches far beyond the world of music. A composer, philosopher, poet, visual artist, amateur mycologist, and longtime Buddhist devotee, Cage has had an enormous impact on generations of artists, from those who worked with and around him to those working today. Whether composing music, performing, or creating visual...
read moreWhat makes an education excellent?
By the Reverend Kimberly L. Hyatt, President & CEO, Cathedral Arts Project No doubt everyone can agree that an excellent education is one that equips students to be a good citizen and to succeed in college and/or a career. If we really want to provide an excellent education, we have to start taking the arts seriously again. If we want to equip today’s students for the jobs of tomorrow, we’ve got to do more to cultivate creative thinking. We cannot predict the kinds of jobs we’ll be trying to fill a decade or more down the...
read moreThe Art of Noticing and Talking
Language and Literacy are Everywhere. By Kim Kuta Dring, Director of Learning and Engagement at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens Who doesn’t love a great story, especially those with interesting scenes that span time frames and cultures to bring far-off places and modern-day perspectives to life? Stories surround us everywhere, and we can experience them not just through the written word, but through the places we go and the things we notice and talk about. The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens is one such place with a myriad of...
read moreHistoric Holiday Shopping.
A look at downtown Jacksonville’s iconic department stores. By Kate A. Hallock and Emily Cottrell. Jacksonville Historical Society Five years after the Civil War in America ended, December 25th was declared a national holiday and, by the late-19th century, the marketing of goods specifically for that holiday was in force. The holiday was celebrated with Christmas cards, stockings filled with nuts, fruit, and candies and handmade wooden toys or knitted dolls. In the early-20th century holiday gift-giving included factory-made toys and...
read moreFIFTYYears of Artists, Education, and Impact
As the University of North Florida (UNF) celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Jacksonville, “FIFTY: An Alumni Exhibition,” showcases the work of 50 practicing professional artists who graduated from UNF’s Department of Art, Art History, and Design. The exhibition is the first of its kind, highlighting UNF alumni in a comprehensive way and showcasing the strength of the university’s programs. The artists chosen for this exhibition work across a breadth of media—from...
read moreThe Power of Stories
Weaving Tales to Show the Truth By Laura Bennett In 2010 Basma and her family were forced to flee their home in Iraq as the American occupation wound down. Her husband Ali’s life had been threatened for providing assistance to the United States following the invasion of Iraq. The goal of his work: to limit the overwhelming collateral damage to innocent civilians as a result of our poor understanding of Iraqi culture and Iraqi families. When they learned of their associates being killed, Ali and Basma knew they had to leave. They needed to...
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