This is a partial listing of the most influential people in the arts for the past 20 years here in Jacksonville.
It is a list primarily centered around the creation of Art or Cultural Activity more so than the leaders of Cultural Institutions. So while George Kinghorn is included in this listing for his contributions in creating a venue for Contemporary Art, the teams responsible for bringing the massive Egyptian exhibition to the Cummer Museum are not.
Without any further Preamble.
Tim Massette. The owner of Subterranean Cinema. His devotion to film and the culture surrounding it has made him one of the most influential and important assetts that the city posesses.
Lee Harvey, the first and most famous of the activist Art Provocatuers. His work established the idea of street credibility for native artists and his activist role in criticizing the Good Old Boy System, the Religious Right, and his early activism against the Bush Regime not only made him a lucrative franchise on "Jesusville" but also paved the way for other 'outsider' artists to come after him. Best part is that he accomplished it over the strenuous obstructionism of Folio Weekly.
Morrison Peirce. His wacky outside of the box spirit of experimentation for the sake of experimentation has shepherded quite a few young artists to break out of the stale and traditional local molds. Everything from street multi media projects to art road trips.
Al Letson. The legendary Spoken Word artist, national Slam Competitor and NPR host continues to bring an example, both personal and artistic to young poets and spoken word performers. With his combination of classic theater and urban spoken word styles, he set the tone for 9 years of spoken word performance and development in Jacksonville.
Lee Hamby/Josh Waller/ Shawn LeNoble The undisputed leaders in the movement to update and derigamorticize the local musical theatre scene. These three have been pushing the admittedly limited artistic envelope locally for the past 5 years.
Steve Williams and Jim Draper. Despite more ups and downs than a roller coaster ride in beijing, these two have been remarkable consistent in providing 'The Venue" for the past 10 or more years. The have brought a sense of organization and market sensibility within reach of artists all over the city.
Tiffany Duhart and Emanuel Washington. The owners and promoters of Nokturnal Escape and Soul Release. these two have kept Jacksonville in the loop nationally as vibrant contributors to both the Spoken Word Movement and more recently as hot spots on the rising Neo Soul Movement. Always on the cutting edge, always progressive, these two have helped create some of the most vibrant cultural experiences in the city.
Michael Breen. Playwright.
George Kinghorn. Convinced the Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art to drop the pretension to an art form it could not possibly hope to substantively represent and instead transform into a gallery and conduit of an actual and living art form which is being produced today. One of the wisest and most long term sensitive moves of the museums long history.
(to be continued)