Celebrate our community's creative talent with us at Art Walk, on the first Wednesday of each month in Downtown Jacksonville. This November 5th, the Main Library stays open until 9 p.m. for the festivities. Pick up a Map & Guide to the Main Library on your way in. During your visit, you'll find plenty of public art, a huge vintage map collection, and more.
Art Tours | Local Art
Artist Interview | More Free Activities
F.A.Q.
# Art Tours of the Main Library
From Pam Schauben, one of our volunteer docents:
"My favorite piece is Kathryn Freeman’s Allegory of Library. It’s charming, appeals to all ages and has so many details that there is always something new.
Attendees enjoy the symbols of Jacksonville: the Greenleaf and Crosby clock, the lion bench, the winged figure and the cows. I love the way the book covers and bindings look exactly like the actual books! It inspires optimism and imagination."
Augusta Savage, Al Held, Kathryn Freeman, Lee Adams, Jerry Uelsmann. Do you know that works by these artists and many more are on permanent display at the Main Library? Come take a 20-minute docent-led tour during Art Walk and rediscover these remarkable paintings, sculptures, and photographs. Tours start every half hour starting at 6 p.m. Meet the docent by the Art Tours sign in the Pajcic Promenade (the entry/hallway on the first floor).
# DCPS Educators Bring Their Talent
This November, Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) educators are showcasing their talents on the first floor at Main Library. Celebrate with us the range of artistic work within the teaching community, where 18 arts educators display 42 pieces of art from 4 counties across Northeast Florida. From photography to sculpture, acrylic, oil, and watercolor, walk through and observe the excellent work of those that instruct our students. See the creativity that our educators bring, not only to their classrooms but their personal practice. The exhibition is free and open to all.
Meet the artists at a reception during Art Walk, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
# Artist Interview w/ Andrew Kozlowski
Get to know this month's featured local artist.
You’ve shown in Virginia, in Alabama, Iowa, North Carolina. Presented solo, group, and juried exhibitions, and even been commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) to create a new comic for them. Tell us about this exhibit with the Jacksonville Public Library in particular.
The exhibition SLO PWR collects a sample of the original drawings from my weekly comics-- warts and all. Each week starts with a blank page, followed by blue pencil drawing, and finally black ink. Though the pages can be read independently, their power comes from their collection-- a sustained and ongoing accumulation of observations, built one pebble at a time.
One exciting thing for me is that these drawings are often just the start of the work. Typically, they get scanned and then I add color to them digitally. But I've really come to love this version, where it is just ink over top of the sketch lines, which you can still see poking through. It's special because you can see the thinking, how things move, the spelling mistakes (many of which remain until I edit them out), how a phrase might change or an image might develop. Unlike the finished printed pages, these drawings get to live in a state of nearly there. which to me is a lot like that goal of consistently moving forward- tortoise style.
SLO PWR is a great title for a showcase. Tell us a little bit about what that means to you.
The title of the show is a reference to a print by Corita Kent that says "GO SLO". For me, SLO PWR is a reminder to resist the temptation to equate feeling fast with going fast. Everyday I'm bombarded with more information than my brain can handle, and it's a mix of stuff I do care about and stuff I couldn't care less about, but because it comes on so fast and at such a volume it all just becomes a wash. While the potential to share information widely with all sorts of people is a wonderful idea- in practice I'm finding that we're trying to drive at the speed of technology instead of using technology to adapt to more human speeds. SLO PWR is a reminder that small, slow, deliberate, consistent, intentional, actions have a great deal of power- perhaps more power than we give them credit.
How has your art practice - in this case specifically comics - changed over time?
It has become more consistent. Prior to 2020 I was making large scale murals with wheatpasted screenprints. I loved that work, but it was also very difficult. I'd make it but I often didn't get time to sit with it myself. It was very up and down, slow and fast, and eventually I just kind of got burned out by that kind of cycle. Quarantined at home during the pandemic I had to revisit what I was making, or what I could make on a desk. I also had a lot to process, so journaling, making comics, making books all became outlets for my ideas. And I think they are the result of more consistency with my artwork because I am just in closer proximity to it. While the work I make isn't as grand in scale as what I had been making, I find that I've been more in tune with my ideas because I'm able to work with them a bit at a time.
What would you like our library patrons to know about your work?
Probably that time plays such a role. These pieces are from the past few months/years I set myself an assignment to make and share one comic a week every Sunday. I did it for a year and I just kept going. It isn't always easy, but I've learned a lot about how I write and observe. It becomes a task of noticing things little by little. There are times when I've worked ahead maybe a few weeks, but the majority of these are done the week I share them. I've had moments of real clarity-- knowing exactly what I wanted to share-- and moments of total doubt. But either way I just try to keep going, bit by bit. Over the years it has grown into pages and pages and most importantly, into ideas and questions that I had no idea I had.
See 'SLO PWR' on the 2nd floor of the Main Library from November 5th to December 15th.
# More Free Activities
Monthly Zinester Meetup
Do you read zines? Make your own comics? Drop by Zine Zone on the first floor of the Main Library every first Wednesday of the month (during Art Walk) from 6 - 8:30 p.m. It's a space where "zinesters," writers, artists and more meet to network, learn new skills, do group projects, and make art. If you haven't already, this is also a good time to browse or donate to the Zine Collection.
For more info, visit jaxlibrary.org/zines.
Smash Bros. Tournament
Join us from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Teen Room (on the first floor) for a Super Smash Bros. Tournament for teens (ages 12-18) on the big screen TV!
Board Games
Looking for other adults to play board games with? Join us from 6-8 p.m. in the "engagement" space on the first floor. Just look for the big red carpet between the gallery and the Zine Zone. Note: Participation from beginning to end is not required and players can join/leave at any time.
This month's games:
- King of Tokyo
- Kites
- Trash Pandas
- Allplay Fiction
# F.A.Q.
1. What time does Art Walk start? What time does it end?
Jacksonville Art Walk runs from 5pm. to 9pm, every first Wednesday of every month.
2. Where is Art Walk located?
Art Walk happens in downtown Jacksonville, and the Main Library is located on 303 N. Laura St.
3. What about cost? Is Art Walk free? Do I have to pay for parking?
Art Walk is free. The parking garage on Duval St. has $5 special event parking. All the events held in the library are also free.
4. Can I bring children? Is Art Walk kid-friendly?
Absolutely! We welcome kids of all ages.
