January 18, 2022 – April 8, 2022 | Smathers Library Gallery
Lost Communities of Florida
Lost Communities of Florida looks back at some of the once thriving Florida communities that have now faded or disappeared. It examines the broad social, economic, and political trends, as well as natural disasters and new technologies, that contributed to their rise and fall. Curated by Dr. Bridget Bihm-Manuel and Hank Young.
February 11, 2022 – April 18, 2022 | Smathers Library Lobby
Lives, Hopes, Histories: Black Authorship from the American Revolution to the Harlem Renaissance
The earliest Black authors in the United States had limited opportunities to publish their works, or even to be identified on equal terms with their white contemporaries. During the nineteenth century, they made use of emerging and ephemeral genres—the newspapers, tracts and periodicals of the Antebellum period—to tell their stories and reach a broader readership. Black authors created new and distinctive poetry, history and fiction, as well as identities divorced from those of currently or formerly enslaved people. Curated by Neil Weijer.
February 4, 2022 – may 6, 2022 | MARSTON SCIENCE LIBRARY
Selections from Book STEAM
Scientists seek answers via evidence and data; artists use intuition and aesthetics to tease out the truth. The fundamental aim of both is to understand the universe and humanity’s place in it. The works on display demonstrate the artists’ interpretations of the basic nature of our existence via literal and figurative translations of scientific concepts. They may or may not be “true” in a scientific sense, but these books make us feel something. Who can argue that is not just as important as a technological advance? Curated by Ellen Knudson.
FEBRUARY 18, 2022 – JANUARY 24, 2023 | Library West
Freedom is Not Free: Ax Handle Saturday
Beginning August 13, the NAACP Youth Council organized sit-ins at segregated lunch counters in downtown Jacksonville. On August 27, white Ku Klux Klan (KKK) members attacked Black people in downtown Jacksonville. Although often overlooked, Ax Handle Saturday is a significant part of Florida and American history that mirrors and expands the national Civil Rights Movement. Curated by Antonette Jones.
APRIL 18, 2022 – JUNE 24, 2022 | SMATHERS LIBRARY GALLERY
“I Wanna Tell Ya…” About Bob Hope
Bob Hope left an indelible mark on the entertainment industry through his work in vaudeville, theatre, radio, television, recordings and film. His career grew from local vaudeville to the global stage. Born Leslie Townes Hope in England in 1903, he immigrated with his family to the United States at a young age. Over a long career, he came to represent the good will of the United States on stages around the world. Curated by Jim Liversidge.
JUNE 17, 2022 – OCTOBER 28, 2022 | SMATHERS LIBRARY LOBBY
Afrofuturism: Creativity of the Black Mind
Afrofuturism has grown in popularity in recent years and is present in every sector of popular culture. The literary and artistic style reimagines the past or creates an enhanced present and future through an Afrocentric lens. Pioneered by Black authors, artists, and musicians, Afrofuturism manifests fantastical worlds that Black people have historically been excluded from. Often directed toward a Black audience, the genre establishes a sense of solidarity and inspiration. Curated by Antonette Jones.
JULY 15, 2022 – SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 | SMATHERS LIBRARY GALLERY
Presence/Erasure: Black History in St. Augustine
Over 450 years of Black history fill the streets of St. Augustine. Yet, the changing tides of history, colonial powers, and racial prejudices buried many of their stories. The experiences of Black St. Augustinians are vast and expansive and are a necessary part of U.S. history, as they have and continue to contribute to shaping this land and nation. Curated by Laura Marion and Casey Wooster with assistance from Antonette Jones.
JULY 26, 2022 – SEPTEMBER 26, 2022 | LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN COLLECTION
Estudiantes Conscientes: Student Revolution in Central America
This exhibition focuses on student movements and revolutionaries in Central America and their role throughout the region’s 20th-century Cold War conflicts. Curated by Erika Cintrón Cordero.
SEPTEMBER 14, 2022 – January 24, 2023 | SMATHERS LIBRARY LOBBY
Books Banned in Florida Prisons
This exhibit presents just a small sample of the thousands upon thousands of books that incarcerated people in Florida are barred from reading. Many of these titles critique the U.S. prison and criminal justice system and the violence it enacts on millions of lives, primarily Black people and other marginalized groups. Other titles provide sources of empowerment and liberation. Curated by Stephanie Birch and Katiana Bagué.
SMATHERS LIBRARY GALLERY | SEPTEMBER 26, 2022 – JANUARY 16, 2023
Makers Gonna Make: Artists Books for Tumultuous Times
Being creative during tumultuous times is incredibly difficult. Our minds and bodies are not built to absorb constant streams of traumatic events like those we have all experienced within the last decade. This exhibition features artist book works created during and about these times we are living in. The work here does not and cannot provide solutions to problems, but offers a moment of acknowledgment to the reader that says, “You are not alone.” Curated by Ellen Knudson.