New Exhibit – Reception Invitation
Introducing year two of this community outreach effort – the Art in the Courthouse (AITC) program. Thousands of people conduct business inside the Clay County Courthouse annually, so the goal of this program is for this large public building to be an inviting venue, as much as possible. AITC began in January 2022 and has been very well received and enjoyed. The Art Guild of Orange Park helped launch this effort as the debut exhibit last year, and now they’re back with another amazing exhibit to share with our community now through April.
For their latest summer project, the Art Guild of Orange Park challenged their members to create artwork depicting the flora and fauna of Florida. The result is an awe-inspiring, colorful gallery filled with a wide variety of scenes of local plants and animals – beautiful!
A reception is planned for the 4th Floor of the Clay County Courthouse (825 North Orange Avenue in Green Cove Springs) from 4:30pm-5:45pm on Thursday, February 2, 2023. This brief gallery gathering is open to all members of the media and to any interested citizens or employees of the courthouse and nearby government offices who would like to view the artwork now displayed. All are welcome.
This program is a partnership involving the Clerk/Comptroller’s Office, Clay County judiciary, local art groups, Clay County government, civic organizations, school district and more. While done at other courthouses around the state and country, this gallery remains a first for our courthouse, i.e., a permanent space for continuous display of community art. Displays rotate through the gallery every 1-3 months and space expansion is being considered.
Artists from the following groups are featured here in 2023: First Coast Quilters Guild, Art Guild of Orange Park, Clay County Fair Art Contest, First Coast Plein Air Painters, Jacksonville Art Guild, Youth Art & Photography (Augusta Savage Center).
Clay County Clerk of Court and Comptroller Tara S. Green remarked about the program entering its second year. “The response from courthouse staff and the community at large has been outstanding, so we are excited and proud to have these groups taking part in our program,” Green said.
The Art in the Courthouse Gallery is accessible any time the Clay County Courthouse is open to the public, typically Monday-Friday from 8am-5pm.
CONTACT: ART GUILD OF ORANGE PARK, PHYL RENNINGER (904) 264-5121 or (904) 686-4913.
