# Celebrating Student Artists
Celebrate our community's deep pool of creative talent with us on the first Wednesday of each month in Downtown Jacksonville! The Main Library stays open until 9 p.m. for the festivities!
This month, explore the annual Northeast Florida Scholastic Art Awards: Gold Key Exhibition (before it's gone), get inspired by local zinesters to make your own zine, or sign up for a 20-minute art tour with one of our volunteer docents. Don't forget to pick up a Map & Guide to the Main Library on your way in! You'll find public art, a huge vintage map collection and more!
Gold Key Exhibition
Enjoy hundreds of pieces of award-winning student art, on display in the galleries on the first three floors of the Main Library. The 2025 Northeast Florida Scholastic Art Awards (NEFSAA) season collected and adjudicated 3,189 student submissions from 1,921 students in eight counties including Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, St. Johns, Union and Volusia counties.
This year 1,611 awards were distributed to 744 student winners including 428 Gold, 467 Silver, and 716 Honorable Mentions. This exhibition focuses on the "Gold Key" winning pieces. However, you can also check out some of the "Silver Key" pieces on the digital screens in the first floor gallery (just outside of the Teen Room).
Please note: The show ends Thursday, March 6.
This exhibition is part of an ongoing partnership with Duval County Public Schools and their Fine Arts Department. Main Library will also host The Best of Elementary Art Exhibition (March - April) and The Best of Middle Art Exhibition (April - May).
# Art Tours
Docent-Led Art Tours Start at 6 PM
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 (re)discover 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).
Registration is strongly recommended. The last tour starts at 8 p.m.
Note: In addition to the permanent works, we also have exhibits that rotate regularly in our galleries on the first, second, and third floors, featuring works by local students and professional artists.
# Drop-In Activities
Zinester Meetup
Do you read zines? Make your own comics? Want to take a truly DIY approach to self-publishing? 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!
This month, we'll be joined by Maxwell Carrillo, a Jacksonville-based poet who draws from various sources to capture the tensions and feelings of life. Maxwell tabled at the Duval Comic and Zine (DCAZ) Fest in 2024 here at the Main Library with their poetry zine, "Stressing the Fire," and has most recently published "Against Flaneur Night" through City Bus Print. Maxwell was inspired to create poetry in this manner after attending and DCAZ Fest in 2023 and participating in the RISO printing project! Come let Maxwell encourage you to create your own zine.
If you haven't already, this is also a good time to browse the Zine Collection (they are available for checkout!). If you have a zine or self-published comic to donate to the Library, bring it with you! For more info, visit jaxlibrary.org/zines.
Smash Bros. Tournament for Teens
Stop by the Teen Room (on the first floor) for a Super Smash Bros. Tournament for teens (ages 12-18) on the big screen TV! Tournament starts at 5 p.m. and runs until someone claims victory (or 8:30 p.m.).
Play Board Games with Adults
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.
