The job of a DJ is not an easy one. It's rare to find a DJ that's not only skilled in keeping an event lively, but can also read a crowd, give them what they want (along with some of what they didn't realize they wanted), and keep the party going while not missing a beat. It truly is an art form.

Miguel "Mas Appeal" Almeida is one of those rare DJs - though he's certainly much more than that. He's been creating art in this city for over fifteen years and throws some of the best parties in Jacksonville that you probably don't know about (yet). He's also one of those individuals that's extremely approachable, friendly, and surprisingly unassuming considering all that he's done and continues to do. Hip Hop and its principles are infused within every facet of the work he does from creating and producing music, to DJing, Emceeing and hosting events, and volunteering with at risk youth. For him Hip Hop is more than his Artistry, it's a way to reach people and give back.

To call Kristina Hatcher a Jill of All Trades would be a massive understatement and a blatant  falsehood, particularly the bit about being a Master of None. She absolutely has a lot of irons in her fire at any given moment, and she manages them all with a miraculous ability to keep the same positive, forward thinking energy from one project to the next. She would be better classified as a veritable Force of Nature.

Kristina is not a native of Jacksonville, however, to speak to her, you would never know it. She's one of the biggest advocates for this city that you will ever meet, and she is especially passionate about promoting and nurturing the Arts and Culture scene in Jacksonville. From the moment she moved here twelve years ago, she hit the ground running within the Arts and Entertainment sector, using her photographic skills to leverage her way into a position to begin creating and developing her artistic identity. She's a creative force to be reckoned with and can often be heard saying, "just put me in the room with [insert name of influential behemoth] and I'll get it done."

She's indeed done it all: from coordinating and hosting events, to creating content for print and broadcast media, producing and modeling in fashion shows, and artist development, management, and promotion. She's connected to nearly every scene in Jacksonville in one way or another, and if she's not involved yet, it's probably on her to do list. 

Motivated, forward thinking, creative, and sincere - she's one of Jacksonville's best kept secrets and it's about time the word got out.

In 2018 the City of Jacksonville announced that the Mayor’s Summer Jobs program had been expanded into the Mayor's Youth at Work Partnership. The city partnered with business, education, nonprofit and philanthropic entities to develop an integrated youth employment career pathway system. 

The program goals centered around "building the talent pipeline for our local economy by connecting young adults with education and employment career pathways that prepare them to meet the skill demands of employers while leading them to workforce success."
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The MYAWP program this summer occurred from June 18, 2018 - July 27, 2018 and included career assessment, employment readiness training, a preceding Youth College and Career Fair and 20-hour work weeks. With the program's expansion, a wide variety of employment opportunities was anticipated.

In an effort to get to know more about the program, we reached out to Rosemary Thornton, Cultural Service Internship Liaison

What started in the Fall of 2013 as a monthly happy hour that took place "Every Single Second Thursday", Every Single Artist Lounge (ESAL) began as the brainchild of Mason Martin, current Project Manager for the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville (CCGJ). With the mission of building community amongst the artists in the Jacksonville area, the Cultural Council extended an invitation to "every single artist in our area, so that we may alert you to opportunities". Interested parties would meet at The Volstead in Downtown Jacksonville to exchange ideas, network, and learn about opportunities available to them.

While the event garnered a fair amount of success, visibility, and engagement, by 2016 participation and involvement had waned. A need to reimagine a plan of attack for rebuilding momentum became evident.  It was then that Mason enlisted the help of Patrick Fisher - former Community and Collaboration Manager for the CCGJ - to breathe life back into the initiative. At that point it was determined that ESAL needed to be open to all age groups (not restricted to the 21+ requirements of the venue), it was decided that a different venue would be chosen as a host location from month to month, and finally, local artists would serve as regular co-hosts of the event.