Ezra Marcos at Suite 106 for June's Artwalk!!!

Greetings everyone! Thanks for stopping by to read my blog! This is a really important blog post...so keep reading!

This coming Art Walk I will be doing a LIVE shoot to raise money for Compassionate Families! About 4 or 5 years back, I did quite a bit of collaborative work with Compassionate Families...so I am very familiar with their services...and they were one of the best agencies I had a chance to work with! Compassionate Families is a non-profit agency (but very, very grassroots) that works with families (especially children) that have lost a loved one due to murder. You can read about them here.

This is the deal...you need to come and show support! The live shoot will be based around the theme of diversity...but that's all I'm going to say, b/c I don't want to spoil the surprise! After the shoot is over, I will post process the images right there on the spot...and my goal is to have a large print on display before the end of the night!!! That print will be auctioned off...100% of the proceeds will go to Compassionate Families. Additionally, once I've completed the post processing...around 7pm...I will be doing portraits for a $10 donation...and you'll get your print right then!

Follow me so far? Cool! Another thing...this one is for up&coming photographers...even hobbyists! I'll be offering 4 days of "don't call it a workshop" thingy. The thingies will be broken down into 4 subjects....shooting manual, composition, lighting/lifestyle shoot, and post processing! Each subject will be about 3-4 hours...it's very fast pace...very hands-0n...and I promise you'll have some practical skills at the end of each "session". The cost is minor...and 100% will benefit Compassionate Families. So what's the cost? A $60 donation! If you want to give more, then I won't stop you! (You'll need a DSLR and a Nikon camera...ok...just joking...but a DSLR is necessary!)

The event will take place during the June Art Walk...that's June 2nd. The location will be Suite 106, which is inside of the Jacksonville Landing (it's one of the Off the Grid galleries). Joey Thate and Kim Barry have been super awesome letting me use some of their gallery space...and they will also have some of their work up...I suspect surprises from them too!!! The shoot will start at 5pm...and around 7pm I will start photographing whoever wants photos of themselves!!!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at 904-338-3901 or at ezra@ezramarcos.com

And if you want to reserve your spot for the "don't call it a workshop" thingy, you can contact me now...or reserve your spot at the Art Walk!

Hope to see you there...and they do too (Kim & Joey on the scooter)!

Suite 106

at The Landing

an OFF THE GRID Gallery

in fellowship with Downtown Vision

and The Jacksonville Cultural Council

Urban Jacksonville Weekly Interview- May 17

Jacksonville's EU Article-- May 2010

Where There is a Will, There is a Space
a downtown gallery update

from L to R) JD Lambert (323 Modernism), Matthew Bennett (The Arts Center), Joey Thate and Kim Barry (Suite 106), Mary Atwood (The Arts Center), Jefree Shalev (Nullspace) and Adrian Pickett (The Adrian Pickett Gallery ) photo by ezra marcos

by SHEA SLEMMER
published: May 7, 2010

You don't have to be keen on anything "art" to know about Art Walk. The fifteen block self-guided tour of Downtown Jacksonville held on the first Wednesday of every month has grown to include much more than a few galleries. In fact, at the end of 2009, there were not a large number of galleries in the Urban Core, but because of the tenacious attitude of Downtown Vision, Inc., there were still over forty venues that participated every month. I'd say this is primarily due to businesses seeing the benefit of displaying local art on the walls, even if it is between racks of dry cleaning and jewelry cases.

Today there are more gallery spaces, due to property owners recognizing that an un-leased retail space gets a lot more attention when hundreds of people file through because someone finally gave them an excuse to. Landlords who've had their space lay vacant for years have little to lose when artists use the space. That's the idea behind Downtown Vision, Inc.'s Off the Grid program.

It's hard for anyone to ignore the role the arts play in urban revitalization. On January 26th, 2010, Mayor Peyton held a meeting with the Northeast Florida Builders Association with the mindset that spaces for artists to work and exhibit downtown equals artists wanting to live near their respective work spaces, which equals more Downtown retail which, to me, seems like a reasonable formula for my Saturday evening bike ride involving more than the sound of crickets.

Just before that, almost in conjunction with Peyton's thought, Downtown Vision, Inc. and the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville combined forces to kick start Off the Grid, inspired by local artist, Jim Draper, pairing artists in need of a space with landlords in need of a tenant. On March 18th a launch party was held to point the last piece of the puzzle, the collector, in the right direction. Within one month of opening night, there are already seven studios participating in this Off the Grid partnership.

In addition to the studio spaces that are part of the Off the Grid program, privately funded galleries are popping up in unlikely spaces. Over on Union Street across from Winn-Dixie there is an un-assuming two-story beige brick building that is home to 323 Modernism. The Modern Art Gallery is owned and operated by local artist JD Lambert, who seems to have a knack for finding interesting work whether it is painting, sculpture or furniture. After a tour of the 5,500 sq ft. space equipped with all the amenities including a full-sized air hockey table, I am convinced that where there is a will, there is a space and, whether you are an artist looking for a place to show your work or a collector of local art, I urge you to do a little research of your own about what is brewing with our Downtown art scene. You can find more information at www.downtownjacksonville.org.

off the grid galleries

323 Modernism

323 East Union St.

654-6441

artist13jax@gmail.com

Hours: By Appointment

Art Center Cooperative

31 W. Adams St. & 111 E. Bay St.

355-1757

amdafricanmk@msn.com

Hours: Tues.- Sat., 11 am- 3 pm

The Adrian Pickett Gallery

2 Independent Dr., Suite 112

The Jacksonville Landing

962-2540

abrushaway@yahoo.com

Hours: Tues.- Thurs., 11 am- 7 pm

Fri. & Sat., 12:30 pm- 8:30 pm

Burro Bags

228 E. Forsyth St.

677-2977

burrobags@gmail.com

Hours: By Appointment

The Next Gallery

203 N. Laura St.

707-0030

sharlatv@comcast.net

Hours: Mon.- Fri., 10 am- 2 pm

Nullspace Gallery

108 E. Adams St.

716-4202

nullspace.space@gmail.com

Hours: By Appointment

Southlight Gallery

100 N. Laura St.

358-1002

southlightgallery@gmail.com

Hours: Tues.- Fri., 10 am- 2 pm, or call or email for appointment

Suite 106 Gallery

2 Independent Dr., Suite 106

The Jacksonville Landing

(386) 451-4704

joey@joeythate.com

Hours: Mon.- Fri., 12 pm- 3 pm