Duval County Courthouse Plaza project will transform the three-acre lawn in front of the courthouse into a safe active urban park with multiple spaces for small events, free speech and sculptures. The entire plaza will be a dignified, memorable and iconic work of art with artist-designed elements such as earth berms, pathways, bollards, shade structures and lighting.
The artist selection process:
To find the best design, the Art in Public Places committee conducted a national search and selected three of the most experienced and prominent public artists in the United States. Each artist will submit a schematic design proposal in the spring of 2021. The winning proposal will be chosen after dialogue with the Jacksonville community. The three finalists for the Duval County Courthouse plaza project are:
Matt Niebuhr and Dave Dahlquist RDG Art Studio - Des Moines, IA
Opportunity for Jacksonville artists - Artist Assistant Due to the current situation with COVID, the artists may desire on-the-ground assistance to gather local information. These tasks may include, but are not limited to, researching local information, organizing zoom meetings for community engagement, collecting photos of the surroundings, etc. The specifics will be determined by the selected finalist artist and does not guarantee artistic participation.
To be part of a list of interested Jacksonville artists, you will need to provide us with a standard resume, a link to your artwork, and a written cover letter explaining why you want to participate, your standard hours of availability and which finalist(s) you would like to work with.
The Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville will offer a stipend of $1,500 for assistance between January and April, 2020. We estimate 60 hours at $25/hour.
Submit your information below to apply for the artist assistant position. Submission deadline: January 14th, 2021.
On July 8, 2020, the Art in Public Places Committee adopted the vision proposed by the Stakeholders Committee. The vision is part of the Call to Artists.
On June 2, 2020, the Cultural Council lead the Stakeholder through a presentation of the proposed vision for the Courthouse plaza. Video stored on Facebook
With many of same questions asked the general public in February, the Stakeholders plus downtown leaders gave their opinions on the purpose and function of the transformed plaza. April 2020.
On February 8, 2020, artists, architects, urban planners and others gathered at the Haskell offices to discuss and draw ideas for a new plaza. Organized by the Jacksonville Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
Judge Tatiana Salvador, Co-Chairperson Judge Dawn K. Hudson, Co-Chairperson Allison Galloway, Cathedral Arts Project Dr. Diana Greene, Duval Public Schools Maria Hane, MOSH Holly Keris, Cummer Museum Caitlín Doherty, MOCA Jacksonville Preston Haskell, Haskell Company Lori Boyer, DIA Numa Saisselin, Downtown Vision / Florida Theater Chris Flagg, Landscape Architect Aleizha Batson, JTA David Goldberg, JEA Charles Moreland, Office of the Mayor Bill Joyce, Jacksonville Public Works Tim Snyder, Jacksonville University
Staff: Ronique Gibson, Project Manager
Art Selection Panel
Kimberly Kim, Chairperson Judge Tatiana Salvador Judge Dawn Hudson Chris Flagg, Landscape Architect Caitlin Doherty, Director of MOCA Jacksonville Bryant Rollins, Novelist/Journalist Ann-Marie Knight, Vice President at UF Health Lori Boyer, CEO of Downtown Investment Authority Teresa Eichner, City Office of Finance