City of Jacksonville staff art show closes with awards ceremony at Main Library

A month-long exhibition celebrating the creative talents of Jacksonville's municipal workforce will come to a close Wednesday evening with an awards ceremony at the Main Library Gallery downtown. The City of Artists exhibition, featuring 164 visual arts pieces created by 91 City employees and their children, has been on display since mid-October and will conclude with a reception during November's downtown ArtWalk.

The awards ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday, November 4, 2026, at 6:00 p. m. in the Jacksonville Library Gallery on the main floor at 303 N. Laura Street. Darnell Smith, Chief of Staff for the City of Jacksonville, Councilman Kevin Carrico, and Jackie Szafara, Executive Director of the National Arts Program, are slated to attend.

What's happening

The exhibition was organized through a partnership with the National Arts Program Foundation, a nonprofit that coordinates workplace art exhibitions across more than 80 venues in 30-plus states each year. Jacksonville-based visual artist Cheryl McCain curated the show, with assistance from City employees Cliff Buckley, Teresa Eichner, and Heather Schatz. Artist Kate Frey MacKinnon handled installation.

Each of the 164 pieces was evaluated by a panel of three Jacksonville-based visual artists: Jenny Hager, Erin Kendrick, and Tony Smailagic. The judges selected winners across several categories, including a Best of Show award. The National Arts Program provides funding, guidance, and cash prizes for the exhibitions it supports.

The show has been open to the public in the Main Library Gallery since mid-October, giving downtown visitors and library patrons a chance to view the range of creative work produced by the city's workforce and their families.

Showcasing the municipal workforce beyond the job description

The City of Artists exhibition offers a window into the lives of Jacksonville's municipal employees that extends beyond their official roles. The city's workforce spans thousands of positions across dozens of departments—from public works and parks maintenance to planning, permitting, public safety, and administrative offices—and the exhibition underscores that these employees bring creative interests and skills to their lives outside the workday.

Workplace art programs of this type have grown in popularity as employers recognize the value of celebrating employees' personal talents and fostering a sense of community beyond job titles. The National Arts Program Foundation, which partners with the City of Jacksonville on this exhibition, is the only national nonprofit dedicated exclusively to workplace arts programming.

By including children of City employees in the exhibition, the program extends the recognition to families and highlights the role of arts engagement across generations. For the 91 participating artists—and their colleagues who attend the reception—the exhibition creates a shared cultural touchpoint within a large, decentralized organization.

Adding to downtown's cultural landscape

The timing of the closing reception to coincide with November ArtWalk integrates the City of Artists show into downtown Jacksonville's established monthly arts and culture event. ArtWalk, held on the first Wednesday of each month, draws residents and visitors to galleries, studios, museums, and pop-up exhibitions along the downtown streets, particularly in the core area around Hemming Park, Laura Street, and the Southbank.

The Main Library Gallery at 303 N. Laura Street sits in the heart of this corridor, making the closing reception accessible to the broader ArtWalk audience. Library-based galleries serve a dual function in Jacksonville's cultural infrastructure: they provide exhibition space for artists who might not otherwise have a venue, and they activate public buildings as community gathering spots beyond their primary function.

For downtown stakeholders—property owners, small businesses, arts organizations, and the Downtown Investment Authority—events like ArtWalk and exhibitions at the library contribute to the perception of downtown as a vibrant, walkable district. Foot traffic generated by cultural programming supports nearby restaurants, bars, and retail, and helps shift the narrative of downtown Jacksonville from a 9-to-5 office district to a neighborhood with evening and weekend activity.

The Main Library itself is a significant civic landmark. Located on Laura Street between Adams and Monroe, the building anchors the northern edge of the downtown core and serves as a branch of the Jacksonville Public Library system, which operates locations across Duval County. Programming that brings residents into the building—whether for art exhibitions, author talks, or community meetings—reinforces the library's role as a public commons.

Workplace culture and employee engagement

The City of Jacksonville is one of the region's largest employers, with a workforce that includes everyone from sanitation workers and firefighters to engineers, attorneys, librarians, and urban planners. Initiatives that recognize employees' personal interests and talents can play a role in workplace culture, particularly in large, bureaucratic organizations where individual contributions can feel invisible.

The National Arts Program model—which provides structure, funding, and recognition through cash prizes and a national online gallery—lowers the barrier for employers to host exhibitions. For the City, partnering with an established nonprofit means the logistics of curating, judging, and promoting the show are supported, while employees gain a platform to share their work.

Workplace art exhibitions also create informal networking opportunities. Employees from different departments who might never cross paths in the course of their duties can meet at a reception, discover shared interests, and build connections that strengthen organizational cohesion. For the children of employees who contributed artwork, seeing their pieces displayed in a public gallery and recognized with potential awards can be a formative experience.

The involvement of local artists as judges and curators—Jenny Hager, Erin Kendrick, Tony Smailagic, Cheryl McCain, and Kate Frey MacKinnon—also ties the City's program into Jacksonville's broader visual arts community, creating a bridge between municipal government and the independent arts sector.

What happens next

The closing reception and awards ceremony will take place Wednesday, November 4, 2026, at 6:00 p. m. in the Main Library Gallery. The event is open to the public as part of the November ArtWalk schedule, and attendees will have the opportunity to view the full exhibition and see the announcement of award winners across multiple categories, including Best of Show.

Following the reception, the exhibition will be taken down, though the National Arts Program maintains an online gallery where participating works are featured. The program runs annual cycles, so city employees interested in participating in a future exhibition would have the opportunity to submit work in subsequent years if the City continues its partnership with the National Arts Program Foundation.

Tying art to Jacksonville's civic identity

As Jacksonville continues to invest in downtown revitalization and position itself as a regional cultural hub, programs that activate public spaces and celebrate local talent—whether professional artists or municipal employees exploring creative hobbies—contribute to the city's evolving identity. The City of Artists exhibition is a small-scale example of how cultural programming can humanize government, engage families, and add texture to the public spaces that define Northeast Florida's urban core.