Unconditional love can only blossom as a result of being honest with ourselves about the subject for which we harbor our emotions and feelings.  Romanticized ideas cannot be sustained or developed to unconditional levels if we are not willing to fully accept a person, place, or thing for everything that it/they are while also being acutely aware of everything that it/they are not.  We have to chisel away any facade that prevents us from seeing a person, place, or thing for who/what they/it truly are, blemishes and all. 

​Writer Tim Gilmore has a deep connection with Jacksonville, both past and present.  The deeper Gilmore delves into the complexities of Jacksonville's history and identity, the stronger his voice becomes as he advocates for the city he calls home.  But, as much as Gilmore advocates for Jacksonville, he is also critical of its improvable shortcomings and vocal about topics and events that sometimes make others uncomfortable.  As a purveyor of history, Gilmore refuses to tuck away the darker side of Jacksonville's history into crevices where they can never be discussed or analyzed further. 

Lily Kuonen is a visual artist who works in between painting, drawing, installation, and constructed elements.  She has shown her work in solo and group exhibitions on three continents, in four countries, and in 18 different U.S. states. In less than 15 years of actively showing her work, Kuonen has participated in 85+ exhibitions.  This figure is even more remarkable when you take into consideration the fact that for nearly seven of those years Kuonen was an honor student pursuing an undergraduate degree from the University of Central Arkansas followed by a graduate degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design.  And, since 2011, she has worked full-time at Jacksonville University, where she is now Associate Professor of Art and Foundations Coordinator. 

​As an artist, Kuonen casts tradition aside.  She continuously examines and redefines the mediums and processes through which she creates.  In 2009, Kuonen coined the term PLAYNTING (play + painting) to characterize her studio practice, which involves integrating painting with additional forms, materials, surfaces, and actions. Kuonen has worked with a number of non-normative materials, including saw dust, ratchet straps, peg board, and cinder blocks. Her fascination with a material typically continues even after a series is complete.  It isn't uncommon for materials from one series to be repurposed for a future series.  

The Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville invests in the arts and culture to enrich life in Northeast Florida.  By working with a variety of community partners, we weave the arts into the fabric of everyday life in this region.  We advocate for the arts and artists of our region because we know that together we can create transformative experiences that empower and inspire our community, facilitate the exchange of diverse ideas and perspectives, promote civic engagement, and encourage creative problem solving.

Whether you live in Jacksonville or you are visiting the region, you can engage with the arts from Monday through Sunday. Please remember, the arts and culture sector is an asset that requires investment.  Your patronage, whether it is in the form of making a donation to a non-profit cultural organization, buying tickets to an event, or purchasing the work of our artists, is what will ensure a vibrant arts and culture sector in Northeast Florida for future generations. 

Below are 11 ways that we recommend enriching your life through the arts and culture of Northeast Florida. Please note: We tried to be as inclusive as possible with this article.  If we left something out that you'd like to see included, please email patrick@culturalcouncil.org and provide your suggestion.

"Butterfly in the sky.  I can go twice as high..." If you're of a certain age group, the chances are high that you're already singing the lines that follow those words - as well as affectionately reminiscing about the television series for which those words served as the opening line to the theme song. That show was PBS's "Reading Rainbow," hosted by LeVar Burton. 

From 1983 until 2006, "Reading Rainbow" served as an educational and entertaining production that encouraged children to read. The show provided elementary level discussions around themes, and book recommendations were made by children who participated in the program. Imagine how you would feel if you were one of the countless children turned on to books and reading through the series and years later you heard LeVar Burton reading YOUR work on a publicly published platform.  That's the story of writer Laura Chow Reeve. 

We do not have the fortune of choosing every situation that life bestows upon us.  Because of that, at various points in our lives we find ourselves facing personal tribulations, seemingly unsurpassable obstacles, and overwhelming adversity.  Though we may not be able to control what situations life presents us, we do have the ability to choose how we respond to these circumstances.

Struggles and challenges not only test our character but can also build our character.  What we overcome, and who we grow to become as a result of what we endured, can be crafted into a narrative that serves to both differentiate us from and connect us to others. Such is the case for guitarist and singer-songwriter Raul Midón.

Midón and his twin brother were born prematurely in a rural hospital in New Mexico.  As a result of their early arrival, the two newborns were placed inside an incubator.  Doctors neglected to provide the twins with the necessary eye protection, which led to the brothers losing their eyesight. 

Midón, whose parents are of Argentine and African American descent, grew up in a household that provided him with direct access to the arts.  His father, an Argentinian folkloric dancer, placed a drum in his hands when he was four years old.  He eventually replaced the drums with a guitar and started receiving lessons while enrolled at a school for the blind.  Midón continued to pursue music through high school, and after graduation he enrolled at the University of Miami to study under their jazz curriculum.  

It's a little after 8:00 PM on Wednesday, October 5th.  It is the first Wednesday of the month, which means Art Walk in downtown Jacksonville.  The Coniferous Cafe on West Monroe Street is hosting an event to support the launch of "Nick Name," a local zine. It's drizzling rain outside but inside it's dry and a group of supportive twenty and thirty-somethings are gathered to warmly support the evening's programming. 

Part of that programming includes a stripped-down performance by Rania Woodard.  A shy and gentle smile is on the face of the 23 year old singer/songwriter as she stands in front of the crowd, most of whom smile back at her affectionally.  The crowd of people are not strangers to Woodard's work.  They patiently await for her to begin her set and when she does they sway and sing along to her words and melodies.

Woodard plucks the opening notes of "Still," a song she released last year under the moniker LANNDS.  Since its release, the song has received a considerable amount of attention in the indie-electronic scene.  Woodard's guitar is tuned and her amp is dialed in so that the notes she plays are both haunting and soothing - think the opening notes of Jeff Buckley's cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah."