Musicians Coping and Livestreaming During COVID-19
Before COVID-19 shut down businesses and curtailed social gatherings in Northeast Florida last March, singer/songwriter Mike Shackelford was performing live five nights a week at Brucci’s, Mezza Luna, and Mudville Grille. Pianist Gina Martinelli had recently started a nightly gig at Santioni’s. Guitarist Arvid Smith and soul singer Mama Blue engaged with large and small audiences at public events. And the Jacksonville Symphony filled its music hall.
A Refuge On Florida’s Forgotten Coast
Spread across Apalachee Bay, St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), consisting of 68,000 acres, was established in 1931 as a wintering ground for migratory birds. Most of the roads, ponds, and levees in this refuge were originally built in the 1930’s by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), part of Roosevelt’s New Deal after the Great Depression. The ponds and impoundments range from fresh water to salt, accommodating the many species of migratory birds passing through Florida’s Big Bend.
![A Decade of [P]ARTnership](https://arbusmagazine.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/AHH-Eliana-11_k-240x240.jpg)
A Decade of [P]ARTnership
For ten years the art of healing has been on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville (MOCA). Each year young patients at area hospitals have seen their artwork on museum walls, thanks to the partnership between MOCA and the extraordinary nonprofit Art With a Heart in Healthcare (AWAHIH).
Come To Your Census, Jacksonville
Local artist, gallery owner, and arts advocate Shawana Brooks, who is behind the 6 Ft. Away Gallery and the Color Jax Blue mural project, joined Art+Action and recruited local artists to create artwork for billboards that would help disseminate information on and incite inspiration for filling out the 2020 census. For Come To Your Census, Jacksonville, painter Marsha Hatcher and photographer Toni Smailagic were chosen to create pieces that are now on billboards, visible from Interstate 295.
The Greatest Gift of All
Canceling The PLAYERS started a chain reaction that would keep many local workers employed while feeding thousands of needy Northeast Florida residents. When golfer and Ponte Vedra Beach resident Billy Horschel heard the tournament was canceled, he asked The PLAYERS if the food could be donated to Feeding Northeast Florida. The PGA Tour then called Susan King, president and CEO of Feeding Northeast Florida, to see if the regional food bank would accept the food. The hand off event took place on March 13th, and the next day trucks began transporting the goods. That’s when Jon Insetta, owner of Orsay, Black Sheep, and Bellwether restaurants, reached out to King and asked how he and his staff could be of service.
The Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville: Vital to the Survival of the Arts During the Pandemic
A conversation with Cultural Council Executive Director Joy Young
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