Celebrate our community's deep pool of creative talent during Art Walk, held the first Wednesday of each month in Downtown Jacksonville. The Main Library stays open until 9 p.m. for the festivities.
This June, join us for:
- 20-minute art tours of the Main Library
- Three local art exhibitions (and receptions)
- Monthly meetup of local comic and zine makers
- One of two Summer Reading Kick-Off Parties
Joining us for the first time? Pick up a "Map & Guide to the Main Library" on your way in!
Art Tours of Main Library
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).
Local Art Exhibitions
In the 1st Floor Gallery:
Red, White, and Blue Exhibition with the The Art Center Cooperative and Jacksonville Artists Guild honors the upcoming semi-quincentennial, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Join them for a vibrant opening reception from 5:30 to 8 p.m. and see how artists share their vision of “Red, White & Blue” through works inspired by community, history, and celebration. This exhibition runs through June 29.
Participating artists:
William Garcia, Douglas Johnson, Jan Lego, Mary Atwood, Andriyesh Bukov, Gail Karson, Cookie Davis, Annelies Dykgraaf, Ron Episcopo, Patrick Mahoney, Ed Malesky, Susanne Myatt Ulmer, Valentina Nedelcheva, Yuliia Shulhina, Carl Swanson, Michael Taylor, Stephanie Welchans, Lora Wood, Sunil Kumar Ancha, Lisa Lofton, and Peggy Harrell Jennings.
In the 2nd Floor Mezzanine Gallery:
Attend the opening reception for Look Again, a Solo Photography Exhibition by Sunil Kumar Ancha. Light refreshments will be served from 6 - 8 p.m. The exhibition runs through July 30.
"We move fast. We glance and continue. We assume we have seen what is there.
This collection is an invitation to stop.
Every image in Look Again was captured exactly as the moment existed — unedited, unaltered, unchanged. No filters. No adjustments. What you see is what was there. And yet, in each frame, there is more than the eye catches on first glance.
I have spent years learning to slow down — to look at what others walk past, to find the sacred in the ordinary, the extraordinary in the overlooked. These photographs are not manipulated moments. They are real ones, waiting to be seen.
All I ask is that you look again."
— Sunil Ancha
In the Betty Francis Art Gallery (3rd Floor Mezzanine):
This is your last chance to see To Steal a Moment, a plein air art exhibition by the First Coast Plein Air Painters. Join them for a closing reception during Art Walk from 6 - 8 p.m.
This collective of artists from Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia paint outdoors, directly from life. Their mission centers on camaraderie, community engagement, and capturing the character of the First Coast through regular group paint outs and exhibitions. This exhibition features a wide range of scenes—marshes, historic buildings, boats, gardens, coastal landmarks, and quiet corners of everyday life—rendered in oil, watercolor, acrylic, and pastel.
Participating artists:
Luann Dunkinson, Stephen Dunn, Douglas Johnson, Dongmei Lun, Carrie Keene, Peggy Harrell Jennings, Alex Ottich, Randy Pitts, Sheryl Roash, Lori Ann Sweet, Raquel Tripp, and Carron Wedlund.
Meetups and Activities
Zinester Meetup
Do you read zines? Make your own comics? Drop by Zine Zone on the first floor of the Main Library from 6 - 8:30 p.m. (during Art Walk). It's a collaborative 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.
Summer Reading Kick-Off Party
Summer at Jax Library kicks off June 1-6 with parties at all 21 library locations. If you're joining us at the Main Library before or during Art Walk, be sure to stop by the Children's Room from 3 - 4 p.m. or the Teen Room from 6 - 7 p.m.
Kids and teens in attendance will receive:
- One Free Book for their home library (while supplies last)
- Summer Reading Prize Tracker(s) to log reading minutes
- Reading Dragons & Friends starter card set and deck box
Prize books were made possible by donations to Tenikka's Books for Kids (annual book drive) and the Library Foundation of Jacksonville.
BONUS: The Jacksonville Waves are offering one complimentary ticket with the purchase of at least one additional ticket for students participating in the Library’s Summer Reading Challenge. Up your summer reading game this June and July and watch the new women’s professional basketball team this season at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena now through September! For more info, read our FAQ or call the Jacksonville Waves Front Office at (904) 602-7825.
