Urban Jacksonville

Invitation by Jeff Harrington, Kelly Young, David Brent Lee and MOCA Jacksonville. Photo by Ingrid Damiani

I received my Off the Grid Launch Party invite in the mail Thursday. It looks tight. Jacksonville, downtown specifically, is getting a little swagger. Off the Grid is:

a partnership between artists, property owners, Downtown Vision, Inc. and the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville. Off the Grid facilitates introductions between Jacksonville artists and Downtown property owners in an effort to activate vacant spaces in the urban core with artistic energy and provide artists with much needed work and exhibition space.

This movement started here and was formerly called Creative Communities. I like the new name, a big improvement. Listen to Terry Lorince, DVI Pres talk about the program, and other things.

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I Hope This Makes You Happy

I Hope This Makes You Happy is a new project from Nick at Art Behind the Fridge. It has the potential to keep me walking up and down the streets of 5 Points on Fridays.

The idea involves me creating a 5×5 drawing that I will take and put up somewhere in Jacksonville for whoever to find it. The idea behind it is this, I believe that art makes people “happy”, or at least thats the case for me. I know that when I look at an illustration, a painting, a sculpture, street art, or even a film that I think is “cool”, it makes me “happy”.

At least I’m hoping he leaves one or two in 5 Points for us to find. Keep an eye out for free art today!

Mesh Magazine Looking for ArtWalk Photos and Events

If anyone has ArtWalk photos, send your links to Mesh Magazine so they can post them up on the site with credit for you. You can also send them events you have coming up in the next month.

I Saved the Best for Last

Each year the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville presents their Annual Arts Awards at a luncheon. The event is held on stage at the Times-Union Performing Arts Center. This year’s awards ceremony will be held on April 20th.

A new part of this celebration of the arts in Jacksonville will be using technology to feature the regions artists on a huge screen running across the back of the stage.

The Cultural Council is looking for artists to submit images for this event. If you want to be included please send or deliver up to 10 of your digital images to the address below. Digital Images must be:

• Professionally photographed.
• Full images, as well as, detail shots are welcomed.
• We would like both 2D and 3D work to showcase.
• Images must be at least 300 dpi and SGA 1024 x 768.
• We will need the images no later than March 17th.
• Indicate how you would like your name credited.

Send or drop off your disk of digital images
Martha McManus
(904) 358.3600
Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville
300 W Water St., Jacksonville, FL 32202

Or if you have a Flickr account, place the images in a group called “Cultural Council 2010” and send a link to martha@culturalcouncil.org

The goal is to highlight as many artists as possible. The Cultural Council cannot guarantee that your work will be included and by submitting your images you are agreeing to allow Cultural Council to use your images in the future to help promote the arts in Jacksonville.

I’m Board 4 – Interview with Chad Landenberger from Thought & Theory on Vimeo.

I understand quite a few people have seen this video, so re-posting here is just to close the loop of people who will be interested to see it, but haven’t.

This is part of new interview series for Urban Jacksonville so keep an eye out for more. We’re taking recommendations for who to interview next if you have suggestions.

Dennis Eusebio came to me a couple months ago with an idea to shoot a series of videos for Urban Jacksonville. This aligned perfectly with my assertion that 2010 would be the year Jacksonville moved beyond text and branched out into audio and video.

We moved this trend along with the Urban Jacksonville Weekly podcast so I was excited to have Dennis work on this video interview series.

This piece stands by itself as a testament to everything that is fun and good in the city. I would love to see Downtown Vision or the Jacksonville Convention and Visitors Bureau use this video as a promotional tool for promoting city life.

Please enjoy the hi-res versions on Vimeo or Facebook and share with a friend next time they say Jacksonville is boring, lame, uninteresting, etc.

Filmed and Edited by: Dennis Eusebio and Varick Rosete. Thanks to Chad Landenberger, 229 North Hogan with music by Holy Ghost “Hold On”.

You may have noticed my lack of posts last week and that’s partly due to a new role I’m assuming in the community. If you’ve followed Urban Jacksonville for any significant amount of time this announcement won’t surprise you.

Beginning in March I’ll start serving as a communications co-chair for the Jacksonville chapter of the AIGA. This is my official disclosure of my relationship with the AIGA. It’s not a paying position so anything I mention in regards to the AIGA is based strictly on my perception of value to you the reader.

Recent event The Morning Leak

How I Fit In

My views on graphic design in the city are well documented. My 3 years in the Minneapolis design community and 3 years at nGen Works further solidified my views on how design can advance our community and add value to our businesses.

In my 20 predictions for 2010 I said “graphic design in the city will continue marching forward, elevate the city visually in ways we haven’t experienced.” When asked to explain this I happily obliged:

By having a strong visual community we present a visually unified face to people who may only experience Jacksonville through the media, billboards or logos we create. More…

I have about 15 different responsibilities and they circle back to getting the word out about AIGA’s events, philosophy and good deeds. I relish this position and it figures nicely into my personal and professional goals.

Me and current AIGA president and my homey Varick Rosete. Photo by Daniel Goncalves

AIGA Jacksonville

AIGA Jacksonville was founded in January 1989. At the time, twenty people signed a petition to form a local AIGA chapter called “The North Florida Chapter of AIGA.” Twenty-one years later, AIGA Jacksonville boasts over 200 members – graphics designers, interactive designers, illustrators, copywriters, educators and design students, as well as professionals in related fields such as printing, prepress and photography – with goals of doubling membership within a few years as well as increasing activity and awareness.

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Flickr

AIGA Jacksonville hosts a variety of programs throughout the year which emphasize both professional and educational development. Some events promote excellence in design, but all AIGA events offer both students and professionals a prime opportunity to network. Ultimately, AIGA Jacksonville strives to position Jacksonville as a leader in the field of design.

Upcoming event: I Love Design » House Industries Loves Letters

To find out more about the AIGA attend the upcoming I Love Design: House Industries Loves Letters. Rich Roat, co-founder of House Industries will be speaking.

Get in on the $1 raffle ticket action where you could win House’s Girard Blocks, PLINC Blocks or Neutraface Slab Blocks (pictured below) in our $1 Raffle. Posters and additional merchandise will also be on sale at the event.

2.18.10 @ 6:00pm at Modis Building
Tickets: $20/member, $30/non-member, $5/registered volunteers

More Events
» AIGA Jacksonville Gives Back: Salvation Army Soup Kitchen
» Pecha Kucha 8

This morning’s show was cancelled but there’s still some good shows going on this week you need to know about. Get out there and support your local scene!

Monday, February 8

Freebird Live ($24)

a little emo/pop-punk blast from the past
New Found Glory
Saves the Day
Hellogoodbye

Tuesday, February 8

Black Pearl Warehouse (free.99)

1971 Dobbs Rd. St. Augustine Fl. 32086
Pre-International Noise Conference
bands from across Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas and more converge on their way to Miami for the International Noise Confernence
biku (Baltimore, MD)
AG Davis (Palatka, FL)
Bright Orange (Jacksonville, FL)
Chicken Jolt (Jacksonville, FL)
Dark Inside the Sun
Drums Like Machine Guns (Philadelphia, PA)
ECM3 (St. Augustine, FL)
Hex Apparatus (St. Augustine, FL)
Hot Mess (Jacksonville, FL)
How I Quit Crack (Alief, TX)
Marlo Eggplant (Seattle, WA)
Mincemeat or Tenspeed (Philadelphia, PA)
minim (Gainesville, FL)
Mr. Lazari (Philadelphia, PA)
Oddknock (Gainesville, FL)
Pony Payroll Bones (GA)
Scared Rabbits (Jacksonville, FL)
Sphinxes (Jacksonville, FL)
Stress Ape (Chicago, IL)
Terror Probe (St. Augustine, FL)
The Lady of Situations (Gainesville/Tallahassee, FL)
The Suicide Magnets (Philadelphia, PA)
Trapbomb (Jacksonville, FL)
Waterdigger (Tampa, FL)

Facebook Event Page

Thursday, February 11

TSI ($5)

infintesmal record’s weekly sirens night
Thumbnail Sketch
Memphibians

Dustin Harewood’s Portraits Exhibit

Art Institute

From the Ai Event Page:

Dustin Harewood’s large-scale portraits explore the complexity of the common gaze; a gaze that can magnify both expression and vacancy. These never-seen-before works are a shift from the popular abstract paintings that have become a signature of Mr. Harewood.

Friday, February 12

Warehouse 8B ($3-5)

support the movement!

DigDog
AC Deathstrike
Thee Tsar Bombas
Sunday Cervix

Super Wonderful (free.99)

1992 San Marco Blvd.

Exhibition featuring works by:
Matt Allison
Clay Doran
Barrett Fiser
Dustin Harewood
Tonya Lee
Kyle Lemstrom
Jen Morgan

Listen to Kyle talk about the show from UJW.
Facebook Event Page

Facebook Event Page

Saturday, February 13

Pass the Mic ‘N Bike II (free.99)

the first event was a much-talked about success, not to miss. meet at memorial park at 7:45. on your bike of course.

Premadonnasaurs (St. Augustine)
Staring Daggers
Civilization
Devil Runs the Truckstop

Facebook Event Page

The Red Affair ($15 Donation)

Karpeles Manuscript Museum
101 W 1st Street

spoken word, neo-soul and poetry hosted by Tough Junkie

SUPER WONDERFUL @ 1992 San Marco Blvd.
Friday, February 12th from 6-9pm
Tonya Lee, Jen Morgan, Dustin Harewood, Matt Allison, Clay Doran, Barrett Fiser and Kyle Lemstrom.

Thanks to Kyle Lemstrom for guesting today. We kicked off our 51st show with a bang. That bang did not include the audio on Jack’s mic. I swear we tested it before we got started. If you missed yesterday, I wrote 5 Reasons Why Pop-Up Art Galleries Are Good for Jacksonville. We discuss this topic at length during the show.

Listen and Subscribe

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Next Week’s Guest

Trey Csar from the Jacksonville Public Education Fund. We’ll talk about education with Trey and special guest Mary Kelli Pakla, education reporter for the Florida Times-Union.

Recommendations

Kyle Black Bean Cuban in San Marco
Jonathan Gammel Rodgers Folk Festival
Jack Grand Opening of Zen Cog bike shop (Bike Jax Interview)
Joey I’m Board IV and First Friday’s in 5 Points at Underbelly

SEE SAW SPACE, one of the first pop-up galleries I wrote about on Urban Jacksonville

This morning on Urban Jacksonville Weekly (9:30am) we’ll talk to Kyle Lemstrom about SUPER WONDERFUL a new gallery opening in San Marco this month.

It’s the latest in a string of art galleries popping up in empty commercial spaces around the city. Along with Nullspace Gallery and 229 Hogan (and many more I won’t mention here) SUPER WONDERFUL begs the question are temporary art spaces good for art in Jacksonville?

A recent Washington Post article had this to say:

Brilliant marketing for developers. But bad PR for art? One-offs forge dicey synaptic connections in the public mind: They reinforce the “art as decor” paradigm, divorcing artists from their highest calling — creating work that challenges social and political norms. On art event nights, artists become another kind of interior decorator.

Why Pop-Up Art Galleries Are Good for Jacksonville

Please be sure to add your own reasons why they are good or bad

1. It creates an additional cultural event, i.e. an excuse to go out and have fun
2. Gallery shows outside the gallery are much more fun and tend to be more creative with space and subject material
3. Another opportunity for artists to sell more work, gain recognition and once again, sell more work, gain recognition…
4. Provides good marketing and PR for the property itself and for the company offering the property
5. Provides experience for gallery operators. Throwing a show in a non-gallery setting is much more challenging

Forging dicey synaptic connections in the public mind”? C’mon! This may be the case in D.C. which surely has a much more developed art community, but in Jacksonville it’s a welcome sight. The Pinkline Project points out

Since the days of the Salon des Refusés in the early 1800s when artists who weren’t selected for the official Paris Salon organized their own exhibit to show their work, artists have been finding ways to show their work somehow some way.

Back to SUPER WONDERFUL, it has the potential to be the second coming of SEE SAW SPACE, one of the first pop-up galleries I blogged about on Urban Jacksonville. The artists in the first SUPER WONDERFUL show (Friday, February 12th) are certainly representative of a few SEE SAW alumni: Tonya Lee, Jen Morgan, Dustin Harewood, Matt Allison, Clay Doran, Barrett Fiser and Kyle Lemstrom.

I don’t have all the details of the first SUPER WONDERFUL like time and location. I’m sure that information will be revealed in the podcast and I’ll post it here or as soon as I find out.

I want to plug another pop-up gallery event this Friday at Underbelly in 5 Points. For February’s 1st Friday, Jim Draper will be having a gallery show called Undraped. DJ Nick Fresh will be DJing from 6-9 followed by me from 9-close in the backyard treehouse. If you haven’t been to Underbelly yet, please come hangout.

Yes the uni-bomber did make an appearance at the LIVE Urban Jacksonville Weekly.

First some news to get out of the way. Monday February 1st on Urban Jacksonville Weekly we’ll have Kyle Lemstrom talk about his new San Marco gallery space SUPER WONDERFUL. The line-up for the first gallery show on Friday, February 12th is Tonya Lee, Jen Morgan, Dustin Harewood, Matt Allison, Clay Doran and Kyle Lemstrom.

Urban Core Vision Plan Steering Committee Meeting

Rendering: Springfield & Hogan’s Creek District. Compliments of Metro Jacksonville.

Urban Core Vision Plan to be Unveiled
Seeing these renderings makes me want to cry. It’s what Jacksonville can be if it realizes its potential. (via Metro Jacksonville)

Ed Ball Building – 1st Floor Training Room
214 N. Hogan St.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
5:30 – 7:30p.m.

VIDEO: Live Urban Jacksonville Weekly Parts 1 and 2

LIVE Urban Jacksonville Weekly Part 1 from Joey Marchy
on Vimeo.

LIVE Urban Jacksonville Weekly Part 2 from Joey Marchy on Vimeo.

Events from Facebook

WAREHOUSE SHOW – Of Legend, Chicken & Whiskey, Bermuda (flyer)
Art Walk at the ZINE Library
Home Team Happy Hour – Young Professionals Supporting Sulzbacher
WINTER LIGHTS: 2010 on Friday, Jan.29th @ Endo Exo
HIP HOP HELL presents…A TRIBUTE TO DJ PREMIER
Undraped – Underbelly Grand Opening with Art by Jim Draper (Interview)

The Gallery Group at The Art Institute of Jacksonville Presents Dustin Harewood’s Recent Portraits Exhibition

Thursday, February 11, 2010 from 5 PM to 7 PM

“For the past six months I have worked on a show of portraits. All information that I have deemed unnecessary has been removed. The result is an isolation and examination of the most important and expressive part of the human body: the head,” said Harewood. “The people I have chosen to draw have all fascinated me at one time or another. Some are well known celebrities while others are local artists, who in my opinion should be considered just as important,” added Harewood.