#Bicentennial Art Exhibition

In celebration of Jacksonville's official Bicentennial, Jacksonville Public Library is pleased to host "Jacksonville Past and Present," an exhibition of local artists from June 1 through July 31 in the Gallery at Main Library. The show was organized by the Arts Center Cooperative and the Jacksonville Artists Guild with financial support from Farah & Farah, Vystar Credit Union, and several others.

Around 100 individual pieces were submitted for consideration from the local art community. Judges from the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) selected 70 for the exhibit.

#Theme

Artists were asked to illustrate their Jacksonville with a current or past event, place, person, etc.

"​What makes Jacksonville special to you? What is a memorable event in the city's history? Highlight an individual that changed the fabric of Jacksonville. Do you love the greenspaces, the zoo, the urban core, the fact that Jacksonville was once the winter silent movie capital of the World? You can research our past for an iconic image or portray an important piece of today."

#Finalists

Six finalists will be announced at the opening reception on Wednesday, June 1 during Art Walk from 6 - 8 p.m. Light refreshments will also be served. The Best in Show, Second and Third Place as well as three "Judges' Recognition" will be awarded on the main stage at the Bicentennial Street Festival & Fireworks event on June 11 at 5:30 p.m. in Riverfront Plaza. A total of $2000 in prize money will be going to the winners with $1000 of that going to Best in Show.

Note: If you have questions about the artwork, docents will be on hand June 1 during Art Walk and starting at noon on June 11. Many of the pieces on display will be available for purchase after the show, through the Art Center Cooperative. Scan codes will be placed next to each piece should you wish to learn more.

#Street Festival

During the festival on June 11, there will also be a "Vystar Kidz Art Walk" set up on zig-zagging panels from noon to 4 p.m. featuring the work of local students, age 10 and under, and an “Empower People with Disabilities” live mural painting at 1 p.m. Both will be set up on the sidewalk in front of Jacksonville Public Library and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). The Center for Independent Living (CIL) is also sponsoring "Wheelchair Art Creation," an incredible show of art skills using wheel chairs near the Library at 2 p.m.

As part of the celebration, there will be plein air artists painting street scenes, a potter, a sculptor, information tents, an LGBTQ+ Pride Month photo booth and a scavenger hunt set up between the Library and Forsyth Street. Six character performers known as the "Imposters" will also be roving around downtown, in character and in full costume, near the Library and James Weldon Johnson Park. They will portray influential people in Jacksonville history.

Later that evening, there will be musicians on stage at Riverfront Plaza, leading up to an impressive fireworks display from 10 - 10:30 p.m. For more information about the Bicentennial Street Festival & Fireworks, visit jax200.org/events.