Past Exhibitions

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 others. Around 100 individual pieces were submitted for consideration. Judges from the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) selected 70 for the exhibit. Six finalists will be announced at the opening reception on Wednesday, June 1 during Art Walk from 6 - 8 p.m. The Best in Show, Second and Third Place as well as 3 "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. Winners will receive $2000 in prize money with $1000 going to Best in Show.

The 2022 Northeast Florida Scholastic Art Awards' must-see Gold Key Exhibition opens at the Main Library on Saturday, February 12. Hundreds of "Gold Key" (or first-place) paintings, photographs, sculptures, and other mixed-media masterpieces created by middle and high school student-artists from across eight counties in Northeast Florida will be on display for the public in galleries on the first and second floor.

The exhibit will run during library hours through Saturday, March 5.

The Library will be open until 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, March 2, for Art Walk.

Once again, Jacksonville Public Library is pleased to partner with Duval County Public Schools to bring the Best of Elementary Art Show to the library this Spring. Unlike in past years, there will be no art receptions scheduled. Selected elementary school student artwork will be on view at the following locations: Main, Argyle, Beaches, Bradham and Brooks, Brentwood, Highlands, Mandarin, Murray Hill, Pablo Creek, University Park, San Marco, South Mandarin, Southeast, University Park, and West. Show runs from March 22 through April 14.

June 19, 2019 – July 30, 2019

2^nd Floor and 3^rd Floor Betty Francis Galleries       

Florida belongs to its own place and time. The heat, the swamps, the humidity and the bugs have been like a foreign planet I've somehow landed on. The density of these forests, with the ominous rustle of creatures moving close next to you, but which you can't see, create a miasma of nightmare. Yet, in that, there is a rich beauty, as if steeped in a world where time stands still. These drawings try to get at that, if only just a little.