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Jacksonville unveils nightly projection ‘On the Shoulders of Legends’ to spotlight local history
Summary
The Jacksonville Cultural Council and Councilwoman Jacoby Pittman described a new digital mapping public-art project — On the Shoulders of Legends — that will project images of local honorees nightly and was selected through resident input; the council urged city funding to sustain the program.
Jacksonville’s Cultural Council introduced a new public-art projection, On the Shoulders of Legends, at a community celebration Monday night, saying the work will be illuminated on a building wall every evening and will feature the faces and biographies of local honorees.
Diane Donathan, who identified herself as representing the Jacksonville Cultural Council, said the piece is part of the council’s public-art work and free grantmaking to nonprofit arts groups. “This piece is called On the Shoulders of Legends,” Donathan said, and the projection, she said, will be visible to children and residents passing the site every night.
The project team said it combined community input with technical mapping. Donathan described the Cultural Council’s role in project management, artist selection and mapping the projection to fit the building’s façade. The presentation noted the work pairs arts, technology and engineering to create a visible monument to local leaders.
Councilwoman Jacoby Pittman, who hosted the event in District 10, said honoree names were collected from residents in two community meetings; nominees were eligible if they lived or worked in the district or were submitted by meeting participants. Pittman encouraged attendees to ask the mayor and other city council members for funding to maintain and expand the effort.
Donathan and Pittman said the Cultural Council partnered with the city’s Parks and Recreation Department and the Office of Economic Development on the project; Donathan also referenced the council’s Arts & Public Places staff (Kat) as part of the team. The presentation said a related public-art display — two bronze likenesses of the Johnson brothers — is installed at Lift Every Voice and Saint Park and that the projection is configured to the building surface through digital mapping.
Donathan closed by urging residents to take part in future selection processes and public-art discussions: “Presence matters. Showing up matters. Having your voice heard matters,” she said.
Organizers said the projection will be available nightly and that the Cultural Council will continue to work with the community on selection and future site-specific projects. Funding sources to maintain the projection were not specified; Pittman asked residents to press elected officials for municipal support.
Speakers at the event also acknowledged Parks and Recreation staff, volunteers and local arts partners who assisted with the program.
The project’s organizers said the mapping and projection are live and intended as an ongoing element of the neighborhood’s public space; they asked residents to engage with the Cultural Council on future public-art proposals.
