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Image courtesy of Obscura Lux 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. "When youth are afforded the opportunity to gain skills and experiences to prepare them to pursue their dreams, we all win." - Rosemary Thornton 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." 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 “During my 30 years at Americans for the Arts, I have had the great privilege to visit and learn about a different community nearly every week. While they differ vastly from one another, there is one common strength I have observed: the arts have made a profound impact on the health of each community.” Robert L. Lynch, President, Americans for the Arts 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. Photo Credit: Toni Smailagic
Since 1979, the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville has served as the official regranting and administrative agency for City of Jacksonville funding to arts and cultural organizations. In 1990, the Cultural Service Grant Program was developed. This program was designed to provide public support to arts and cultural organizations that contribute to the quality of life of Jacksonville’s residents. Every year, non-profit organizations in the arts and cultural sector apply to receive City funded grants to help support their missions and create broader access to the arts in Jacksonville. City of Jacksonville funds are administered by the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville (CCGJ) through the Cultural Service Grant Program (CSGP), a competitive grant process governed by City ordinance (Chapter 118, Part 6). Last week on Wednesday, September 26th and Thursday, September 27th, the CSGP hearings took place at the Times Union Center for the Performing Arts. The applicants were in attendance to present their programs for recommended approval and funding from the CSGP Committee. Dear Cultural Council Stakeholders,
As many of you are already aware, Tony Allegretti is leaving the Cultural Council at the end of September after leading the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville as its Executive Director for the past four years. The agency thanks Mr. Allegretti for his leadership. We are excited to bring new leadership to the Cultural Council to serve as the spearhead of Northeast Florida's cultural and creative community. The agency Board of Directors formed a Transition Team that developed a comprehensive Executive Director succession plan, the search plan, and the Executive Director job description. Until the position is filled, we will utilize an Interim Director and are currently searching for qualified candidates. In the meantime, the Board has prepared to provide organizational oversight to maintain continuity in the day-to-day operations until an Interim Director or Executive Director is named.
At the time of reporting, there were 291 full-time employees and 413 part-time employees who worked for the 26 non-profit arts organizations in Duval County that received public funding through the City of Jacksonville's Cultural Service Grant Program (CSG) during fiscal year 2016-2017. Add on top of that another 539 independent contractors and 14,776 volunteers. These figures are used to illustrate the fact that a lot of individual and collective efforts go into developing, marketing, and delivering engaging cultural programs and activities that make Jacksonville a better place to live, work, and visit.
Many of these individuals go unseen by the patron's eye as they work behind the scene to execute their organization's mission. But, one employee at the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville (MOCA) has taken a role that is traditionally viewed as authoritarian and has elevated it into a role that includes patron engagement, customer service, education, and being a cultural ambassador. That employee is Sheri Verile, MOCA's Chief of Security. On Thursday, July 19, the public had an opportunity to engage with the artists and artist groups that have been commissioned for Phase II of the DIA Urban Arts Project. A meeting was held at the Jax Makerspace inside the Jacksonville Public Library's Main Branch. A LOT of valuable input was garnered during this meeting. One attendee described Jacksonville as a kaleidoscope because of the city's wealth of diversity. Many in the audience communicated the need for better representation for people of color and the need for properly sharing Jacksonville's history and authentic identity. At the close of the meeting, all artists thanked the audience for their input and expressed that they see themselves as civil servants and will do their best to honor Jacksonville's residents through the work that they create.
Four artists/artist teams have been awarded commissions in connection to Phase II of the Downtown Investment Authority's Urban Arts Project. Phase II is slated for installation in 2019 in the entertainment district of downtown Jacksonville, known as The Elbow. A total of 114 applicants applied and a nine-member panel of community representatives reviewed applications for the demonstrated ability to address streetscape aesthetics with innovative, functional, and artistically appealing 2-D and 3-D public art. The four commissions were awarded to:
All artists arrived in Jacksonville this week to inform their artist design through a range of community engagement opportunities. On Wednesday, July 18, the group met at Jax Chamber for an in-depth information session about Jacksonville and The Elbow. Artists and stakeholders were then led on a walking tour of The Elbow to identify possible locations for public art. On Thursday, July 19, the public is invited to engage directly with the artists at the Jax Makerspace inside the Jacksonville Public Library's main branch. It's a great opportunity to be a part of the public art process by sharing your opinions of, and aspirations for, Jacksonville with the artists. The event starts at 6:00 PM. You are also invited to take a Phase II Stakeholder Survey. |
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June 2019
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