Writer Jared Rypkema is the founder and publisher of Bridge Eight Literary Magazine.  Published twice a year, Bridge Eight includes short stories and poems loosely tied to a central theme.  Contributions to the literary magazine come from writers across the country.  Each issue also showcases one visual artist whose work is featured on the cover and within the pages of the magazine.  

Bridge Eight represents and evolution of an idea.  Rypkema saw a need to bring together Jacksonville's writing community.  With this need identified, he formed Left on Mallory, a small group of writers who met each week at Rypkema's home in Riverside.  Rypkema's ambitions and vision didn't end with Left on Mallory; he sensed the need for something more substantial, something that showcased the great writers of our region. With no previous experience in publishing, but with the blessing from Jacksonville's established writers, Rypkema began the work to create a printed literary magazine.

Rebecca Thompson was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida.  In early 2014, when co-producing a film in Atlanta, she was faced with escalating location and studio costs.  To remedy these costs, Thompson suggested to her partner that they move the production to Northeast Florida. This decision saved the production financially but it also created a new challenge, finding trained talent to bring their script to life. 

After the production wrapped up, Thompson reflected on the experience and the advantages of working in Jacksonville, which included lower production costs and proximity to the major television and film production hubs in the Southeast’s now booming market. She knew that if she wanted to bring more productions to Jacksonville she needed to provide professional training to progress the region's talent to the next level. From this, Creative Veins Performing Arts Studio was formed. 

In 2011, Robert Walker, who was born in Jacksonville but raised in Atlanta, was inspired by a hip-hop DJ to go beyond simply admiring photography to learning more about the artistic discipline. Though he held photographers such as Gordon Parks, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Richard Avedon in high regards, it was D-Nice, known by most for his role in the legendary 1980s hip hop group Boogie Down Productions (whose members also included KRS-One and La Rock), that made Walker feel as though he himself was capable of taking great pictures. D-Nice hit a patch of hard times in the 90s and early 2000s but eventually reinvigorated his career through his exploration into the world of photography.  With every picture he posted, D-Nice would list the equipment he used when capturing the images.  This insight served Walker as both inspiration and a source of education regarding the technical aspects of manual photography, camera bodies, and lenses. 

D-Nice, albeit from afar, served as an educator to Walker.  As a self-taught photographer, Walker turned to YouTube for additional guidance.  He used the video sharing website as an open source platform to learn and gain wisdom regarding all things photography. But, Walker didn't start his journey with elaborate equipment.  With limited resources available to him, Walker started his journey as a photographer using something that he already carried with him everyday, his iPhone.  

In 2016, Gwen Meking Whittle spent nearly half a year traveling across the United States.  Like William Least Heat-Moon, as documented in "Blue Highways: A Journey into America," and John Steinbeck, as documented in "Travels with Charley in Search of America," Whittle set out to discover the people and places that comprise the United States of America.  Through her travels, she hoped to come upon a place that drew her in, a city where she could feel comfortable planting some roots. Her journey led her back to her home state of Florida, specifically though to the city of Jacksonville.

Whittle grew up along Florida's Treasure Coast in the relatively small town of Stuart.  As a young adult, Whittle left South Florida in search of someplace different, a place that better embraced those who live on the fringe of mainstream in America's counter and alternative culture scenes.  For at least a while, Whittle found what she was looking for in New Orleans. Perhaps it is worth noting that she left the Big Easy and eventually found herself in a city whose marketing byline is now "It's Easier Here."