Business Features
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 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...
read moreNewBeginnings for a Treasured Tradition
WJCT’s mission is: “To provide programming and services that celebrate human diversity, encourage joyful learning, and promote civic participation, all to empower citizens to improve the quality of their lives.” That mission has been met and exceeded for more than six decades, with ever-increasing participation and support of the North Florida community. Recently, dramatic federal and state funding cuts to WJCT and affiliates have necessitated and resulted in greater community support than ever before for the vital programming it...
read moreCreative Haven A Conversation with the Wall Street Journal’s Noli Novak
Interviewed by Sheri Webber From Hallways to Galleries Q: Congratulations on your new space. What makes this gallery different from other artist collectives? A: Thank you. Many collectives operate like studios with long hallways and closed doors. While those workspaces are useful, they don’t allow art to be properly displayed. We wanted to do something more intentional. From the beginning, we committed to creating not just individual studios but also two dedicated gallery rooms where exhibitions could be presented professionally. Our...
read moreThe Conversation Mari Kuraishi President of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund
Mari Kuraishi is president of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, where she leads work to create communities of belonging in Jacksonville and beyond. Named one of Foreign Policy’s Top 100 Global Thinkers for “crowdsourcing worldsaving,” she cofounded the crowdfunding platform GlobalGiving after many years at the World Bank, where she created and managed some of its most innovative programs. Fluent in several languages and having lived in multiple countries, Mari brings a unique global perspective to her work in philanthropy and community building....
read moreThe Art of Music When Creativity Heals
By Brooke McKinney Artist & Communications Manager for Art with a Heart in Healthcare Art and music are more than creative outlets—they are essential parts of the healing process. For pediatric patients at Wolfson Children’s Hospital (WCH), the arts offer a powerful way to express emotions, process challenges, and rediscover joy during medical treatment. In collaboration with Art with a Heart in Healthcare (AWAHIH), young artists have transformed wooden guitars into vibrant visual interpretations of their favorite songs,...
read moreProject Atrium: Muralists in Action Dustin Harewood & Shaun Thurston
Local artists Dustin Harewood and Shaun Thurston have teamed up to lead the creation of a mural inside the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Jacksonville. Their collaborative installation, part of the museum’s ongoing Project Atrium series, is more than a mural—it’s a living process, unfolding over weeks in full view of museum visitors. Harewood and Thurston have both contributed to the development of Jacksonville’s now vibrant mural scene, which even a decade ago looked quite different. Think back to 2010 or 2015 and you might remember...
read moreLotus Noodle Bar: Where Every Dish Tells a Story
By Vanessa Harper If you love food and don’t know the name Chef Barry Honan, you should. Nestled in a thoughtfully renovated space on the edge of bustling downtown St. Augustine, the Lotus Noodle Bar is in bloom. Run, don’t walk, to get there. Honan has a knack for setting ambitious goals and achieving them—and if I had to wager, reservations will soon be hard to come by. Honan’s attention to detail is meticulous and is a perfect blend of culinary excellence paired with exceptional service—a combination that restaurants often strive for...
read morePHX JAX: A Springfield Protopia
Phoenix Arts & Innovation District By Sherry Magill The Road to Utopia runs through Jacksonville. Not the 1945 comedy featuring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, but rather a 2024 documentary film featuring the repurposing of Springfield Warehouse District into a regenerative community. This Road to Utopia is found on Food Matters TV via Prime Video and highlights the Phoenix Arts & Innovation District (PHX JAX), south Florida developer Tony Cho’s Jacksonville dream and prototypical demonstration project. A native of a...
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