Epoch Project aims to draw big crowds to downtown Jacksonville in 2013

[duvaldude08]

Im getting more and more excited about this city everyday. An arts and technology festival is something that is needed!

Plans for an art and technology festival will be shared today.
Posted: March 13, 2012 - 12:43am  |  Updated: March 13, 2012 - 12:44am
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KELLY JORDAN/The Times-Union
Doug Coleman (from left), Dolf James and Wayne Wood go over plans for The Epoch Project in James’ Riverside studio. The men, who played major roles in the Riverside Arts Market and Imagination Squared, believe Epoch will bring thousands of visitors downtown.
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Jack Jacksonville on Facebook
 
By Charlie Patton 
Three men who played major roles in creating a hugely popular outdoor arts venue under the Fuller Warren bridge and launched a participatory project that involved creating 902 works of art by local artists will announce plans today for an art and technology competition next year that they believe will draw more than 1,000 entrants and a quarter-million visitors to downtown Jacksonville.

The new competition, which they are calling The Epoch Project, is modeled after ArtPrize, an arts competition that last August drew 1,582 artists from 36 countries and 42 states and attracted more than 200,000 visitors to downtown Grand Rapids, Mich.

The motivation for the project came when Bill Holsinger-Robinson, the executive director of ArtPrize, gave the keynote address to the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville’s annual arts awards luncheon last spring.

That inspired a similar plan by Wayne Wood and Doug Coleman, two of the leaders in creating the Riverside Arts Market, which draws thousands of visitors each Saturday from March to December; and by artist Dolf James, whose projects have included the group exhibit Imagination Squared and the CoRK Arts District, a rapidly growing collection of artist’s studios in old Riverside warehouses.

“We’ve taken an idea that has been successful in a small city in the fall in Michigan and moved it to the most beautiful time of year in one of the most beautiful places in the world,” Wood said.

Coleman said he has attended ArtPrize and found “an invigorated, vibrant, active fun place to be.”

Like ArtPrize, The Epoch Project will match entrants in the competition with downtown venues for an exhibition that will take place April 3-14, 2013.

Like ArtPrize, The Epoch Project will then select prize winners by public voting. Wood said there will be $500,000 in cash prizes, with $100,000 going to the overall winner and the rest of the money being split proportionally among entrants based on vote totals. ArtPrize gives $250,000 for first place and distributes another $250,000 to about 10 runners-up.

The main distinction between ArtPrize and The Epoch Project will be the inclusion of technology among the Epoch entries, Wood said. He said he believes that adding technology in the competition will attract national corporate sponsorships, eliminating the need to solicit support from local donors.

As for marketing, Wood said that once ArtPrize, which began in 2009, announced its pool of large cash prizes, social media took care of spreading the word. The lesson, he said, is “put out a big prize and you’ll draw exciting entrants.”

Any downtown building, hotel, restaurant, bar, condominium lobby, retail store, park, parking lot or empty storefront can be a venue for The Epoch Project, he said. Each venue will be its own curator, making offers to the entrants it wants. A website should go live early this summer, enabling entrants and venues to find each other and make a match. There will be a $45 fee for each entrant and each venue. The event will be free to visitors. Winners will be picked by public vote, and voters will have to be downtown at the time they vote.

The Epoch Project, which has offices in the Times-Union building at 1 Riverside Ave., has named Theresa O’Donnell Price executive director. Price worked as Jacksonville’s director of special events under five mayors and was chair of the Super Bowl XXXIX Host Committee. Also named to the executive committee was Joanelle Mulrain, an artist whose marketing career has included 20 years as a vice president of Baptist Health. Dylan Phillips, a software engineer and architect, is the project’s director of technology.



Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/entertainment/arts/2012-03-13/story/epoch-project-aims-draw-big-crowds-downtown-jacksonville-2013#ixzz1oyDHIGOM

[Noone]

WOW! I'm excited.

The Epoch Project has offices in the Times Union building.

Theresa, would you like to kayak under the TU  with an outgoing tide and just imagine an Epoch paddle that would allow us all to reclaim access to our St. Johns River our American Heritage River a Federal Initiative during this world wide event?

We have a whole year.

It appears the JEA site by the school board would be a good take out location and within the Epoch zone.

[BridgeTroll]

Lets make sure we get te permission from FBChurch...they may not think it jesus wants it.

You are one bitter person...

[Dapperdan]

I am confused about the technology portion of it. Would it be something like SXSW?

[riverside planner]

If anyone can pull this off, it will be Wayne and Doug!  I'm looking forward to this!

[Bativac]

As a Jax resident this sounds awesome and as an artist I'd love to be a part of it!

[duvaldude08]

Lets make sure we get te permission from FBChurch...they may not think it jesus wants it.

Really Garden Guy? "C'mon Man!"

[videojon]

Lets make sure we get te permission from FBChurch...they may not think it jesus wants it.

What a silly thing to say.

[ThisDJ]

This sounds Great!!!!!   I'm there..... 

[comncense]

Another reason to stick it out as a downtown resident.

[Purplebike]

Wow, very cool! I just followed them on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/#!/epochproject

I wonder what the submission categories are, what the process for submitting is all about? I'm not on Facebook, so I could not look into the details, there.

[urbanlibertarian]

FYI, this project will be discussed on WJCT Stereo 90's First Coast Connect program Wed Mar 21 at 9am.  Don't know who the actual guests will be.

[urbanlibertarian]

FYI, this project will be discussed on WJCT Stereo 90's First Coast Connect program Wed Mar 21 at 9am.  Don't know who the actual guests will be.

On the air right now.

[Ocklawaha]

Lets make sure we get te permission from FBChurch...they may not think it jesus wants it.

You are one bitter person...

Took care of that offensive comment BT and videojon.

OCK

[Ocklawaha]

We'll have to wonder if the brains behind the Riverside - Downtown connection will include a 'streetcar category!' If they do, then I'm in too, call it high tech circa 1900, back to the future.