Urban Jacksonville

Christopher Ball, Crystal Jones, Joey Marchy, David Wingard, Caitlin Robinson and Katie Riffle accepting the Cultural Council’s 2011 Small Business of the Year award.

Today we announced I’m leaving Wingard Creative (wing-ard) to take a job with Beeline. It’s a happy-sad day for me. Sad I’m leaving a creative agency I love and believe in. Happy I’ll be able provide my family with more opportunities.

It’s All Good

Many times when a high-profile member of a company leaves, everyone’s first inclination is to think “there must be something wrong”, but I can assure you, Wingard Creative is stronger and better than ever. In fact, I don’t want to leave. It’s such a fun place to work and the people are amazing.

In the past two years at Wingard, we’ve accomplished a lot. We built an interactive department from the ground up and in the process won quite a few awards including the Cultural Council’s Small Business of the Year in 2011.

We organized Creative Company to help small businesses learn to market their services online and work with creative agencies, it was a blast. We launched a beer brand and helped protect the St. John’s River in more ways than one.

We made friends on Facebook and Twitter and then we showed our clients how to do it. All along we developed a high level of customer service, which we promote as a feature of working with us.

Then End …?

One end is a new beginning and I don’t see us stopping here. I have a feeling Wingard and I will be involved for a long while after I leave. If we’re not already connected on Linked In or Facebook, lets do that now. Onward!

Left to right: Christopher Ball (business), David Wingard (principle), Caitlin Robinson (design), Katie Riffle (design), Crystal Jones (interactive/design).

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.

Terry Lorince from Downtown Vision emailed me yesterday letting me know artists spaces downtown are now open. We talked about this extensively on Urban Jacksonville Weekly last week. Listen to our conversation here.

This is a great opportunity for artists to get studio and display space downtown. Thanks to Downtown Vision, The Cultural Council and Jim Draper for helping to put this together.

There is a process for getting a space, so get started filling out your application. Downtown Vision hopes to receive applications by August 31st. Send your completed application to terry at downtownjacksonville dot org.

Attached please find information on four spaces that have become available by property owners. This information will tell you the overall condition of the space, whether it has electricity or is simply raw space, and the monthly amount needed to cover utilities. Please remember that most of these spaces are on a month by month lease. You should also expect that in each case you will need to provide liability insurance (estimated at about $600 a year), and sign a lease with the owner.

Download all documents in Word Format

The Application

Creative Community Space #1
Near Main and Adams Street. Approximate size of storefront (sq. ft) 1,700 sq. ft. Approximate space dimensions 10”x13”

Creative Communities Artist Space #2
Near Hemming Plaza – Third Floor Space. Approximate size of storefront (sq. ft) 10,000 sq. ft . Hard wood floors, brick walls, few windows. Approximate space dimensions Very large – more conducive to an artists cooperative.

Creative Communities Artist Space #3
Laura and Independent. Approximate size of storefront (sq. ft) 2,000 sq. ft .. Approximate space dimensions Very large – secure space.

Creative Communities Artist Space #4
Off Laura Street. Approximate size of storefront (sq. ft) 2,000 sq. ft .. Approximate space dimensions Very large – secure first floor retail space in office building . Great street level visibility.