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Mandarin Museum News
August 2024
Embrace the Mandarin Experience
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Dear Friends,
It doesn't seem possible that a year has already passed since we debuted our newly expanded museum and exhibits. The morning of the big reveal, before anyone arrived, we sat in hopeful anticipation that people would come to our ribbon cutting. In hindsight, it seems silly to think we were worried.
Years of planning, fundraising, researching, writing, designing, building, installing, and the list goes on was only possible through a groundswell of support from the entire community. So when it came time to cut that ribbon, we looked out onto the front lawn at hundreds of smiling faces looking back at us.
In the year since, we have provided arts & culture engagement to more than 20,000 individuals! This includes our daily visitors, school children, tour participants, event attendees, our volunteer corps, other area civic groups, university interns, artists, historians, musicians, researchers, master gardeners, and more. The ways in which our community continues to show up and smile back at us is truly amazing. And we sincerely thank you for being a part of it all!
As summer break winds down and a new school year approaches, we're excited to begin scheduling field trips once again. If you are an educator or you have an educator in your life, please visit our field trip landing page online. Included are downloadable flyers arranged by grade level showing exactly how a field trip to Mandarin Museum fulfills Florida state standards in social studies, science, and the visual arts. There is nothing quite like seeing a child in a museum who is inspired to ask questions, to think critically, to imagine, to create, and to learn!
But until then and as always, I'll see you at the Museum!
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----Brittany Cohill
----Executive Director
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Throughout the entire month of August, visit Museum Guest Services to enter for your chance to win this one-of-a-kind Mandarin Frog created by Don "Frogman" Bowden!
It is free to enter! One entry per visitor.
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Memphis Wood Revisited is on display in the Stowe Gallery at Mandarin Museum and is hosted in honor of MOCA Jacksonville's 100 year celebration.
Curated by UNF Associate Professor of Art History, Dr. Elizabeth Heuer, and UNF Assistant Professor Emeritus of Art and Design, Nofa Dixon, the exhibition explores the decades-long career of famed fiber artist and longtime Mandarin resident, Memphis Wood.
Experience the color and shapes that brought Memphis "the keenest joy."
Special thanks to the University of North Florida, John & Diane Bunker, and Vina Schemer for supporting curation through loans from their private collections.
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First Saturday @ the Museum
Saturday, August 3
10:00 am to 2:00 pm
All historic buildings throughout Walter Jones Historical Park will be open to the public. Stroll along the park's paved pathways and stop in to the 1898 St. Joseph's Mission Schoolhouse for African American Children, the 1892 Losco Winery, the 1876 Barn, and the 1875 Webb-Jones Farmhouse.
Located just down the road from Mandarin Museum & Walter Jones Historical Park, the historic Mandarin Store & Post Office will also be open to visitors (12471 Mandarin Road). Admission is free.
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Mandarin Frog Painting
Saturday, August 3
10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Museum Front Lawn Limited spots remain!
Pick, paint, and take home your very own Mandarin Frog (or turtle or squirrel). Advanced registration is required. To register, please email info@mandarinmuseum.org. The cost is $22, payable upon arrival.
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Meet the Maple Leaf Divers
Saturday, August 3
10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Maple Leaf Shipwreck Gallery
Meet the men who dove the Maple Leaf Shipwreck! In 1864, the Union steamboat Maple Leaf was sunk by a Confederate mine just off Mandarin Point in the St. Johns River.
In the 1980s, Dr. Keith Holland and his team located and excavated the site. Now a designated National Historic Landmark, the nearly 3,000 artifacts his team recovered have been entrusted to the State of Florida for preservation. Mandarin Museum displays many of these artifacts through a long-term partnership with the State Archives.
The Maple Leaf Divers will be in the gallery from 10:00 am to noon, this Saturday, August 3rd. This is an informal, conversational-style event. Drop in to hear their story of discovery, recovery, and preservation.
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Third Thursday Lecture
Storytelling with the Maple Leaf Divers
Thursday, August 22
6:30 to 8:00 pm
Mandarin Community Club
12447 Mandarin Rd.
The Fall 2024 Third Thursday Lecture Series begins August 22nd. Marking 160 years since the Maple Leaf's sinking, you will not want to miss this special storytelling event featuring Dr. Keith Holland and the Maple Leaf Divers. Their stories and banter are bound to delight as they share what didn't make it into the exhibit!
*Astute readers will notice the 22nd is the fourth Thursday in August. This is only for the month of August due to special scheduling considerations.
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Worldwide Play Music on the Porch Day
Saturday, August 31
10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Mandarin Museum Front Porch
"What if for one day, everything stopped...and we all just listened to the music?" Mandarin Museum will celebrate Worldwide Play Music on the Porch Day by featuring our local Ladies Acoustic Jam on our front porch. Sit and listen for a bit in one of our rockers!
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Third Thursday Lecture
Thursday, September 19
6:30 to 8:00 pm
Mandarin Community Club
12447 Mandarin Rd
In conjunction with the “Memphis Wood: Revisited” exhibition, Dr. Elizabeth Heuer will present Memphis Wood: Threads of Modernity. Dr. Heuer will examine the art of Memphis Wood within the context of the Studio Craft Movement’s rise in late 20th-century America. Focusing on fiber arts, we will explore Wood’s work alongside that of celebrated artists such as Mariska Karasz, Sheila Hicks, and Anni Albers. Their contributions will be situated within the broader contexts of post-war art movements, providing a comprehensive understanding of their impact and legacy.
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2024 Fundraising Dinner: Celebrating 35 Years of Mandarin Museum
Thursday, September 12
6:00 to 9:30 pm
Blue Bamboo Canton Bistro
Mandarin Museum & Historical Society is thrilled to host its 2024 annual fundraising dinner on Thursday, September 12th at Blue Bamboo Canton Bistro. Honoring the Museum’s 35th anniversary, the evening will be a true celebration of our decades-long love for the community and the incredible impact of our mission over time!
Proceeds from the event support Mandarin Museum's quality programming and operations.
Tickets are on sale now online and at Museum Guest Services. We anticipate a sold out event.
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Thank you to our growing list of generous event sponsors!
Dr. Edward N. Cohill, USN (Ret.)
Patrick Plumlee and Laura D'Alisera
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Music Under the Oaks
Sunday, October 6
2:00 to 4:00 pm
Museum Front Lawn
Music Under the Oaks, held in partnership with the North Florida Folk Network, returns in October after its summer hiatus.
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Back in stock in the Museum Shop! Copies of Calling Yankees to Florida: Harriet Beecher Stowe's Forgotten Tourist Articles, 2nd Edition by John T. Foster & Sarah Whitmer Foster are now on the shelf.
From Florida Historical Society Press: "With the publication of her novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe became the most famous writer in America. That book helped to fuel the raging debate over slavery in the United States. When Stowe met President Abraham Lincoln in 1862, he reportedly said, “So you are the little woman who started this great war.” Often overlooked is the fact that Harriet Beecher Stowe was also one of the first and greatest proponents of Florida as a popular tourist destination. In 1873, some of Stowe’s descriptive and colorful “tourist articles” were published in the book Palmetto Leaves. Calling Yankees to Florida: Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Forgotten Tourist Articles, contains fascinating vignettes of Florida life not included in Palmetto Leaves, with insightful commentary by John Foster Jr. and Sarah Whitmer Foster. This new edition features Stowe’s meeting with Mary Richards, a famous African American spy, and an introduction by the nationally known novelist Lois Leveen."
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"As someone who harbors an interest in Florida’s past, I was taken with Stowe’s firsthand vignettes. The Fosters deserve accolades for bringing them to us and contextualizing them for modern readers." - Jerald T. Milanich, University of Florida
Pick up your copy at Mandarin Museum today!
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Exciting news from the bronze foundry! Artist Brenda Councill recently sent the following update, "All of the work on the waxes has now been completed." | |
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If you're a new friend to Mandarin Museum, you may wonder what this means. In 2023, the Museum commissioned famed artist Brenda Councill to sculpt a life-size bronze statue of Harriet Beecher Stowe to be installed in Walter Jones Historical Park. The piece honors Stowe's efforts to make education accessible to all in Mandarin - regardless of race - following the U.S. Civil War. Using the centuries-old "lost wax" method, Councill has painstakingly taken her concept of "Harriet Beecher Stowe in Mandarin" from a scale-model, to a life-size clay sculpture, to now full-size wax molds. The wax molds will be used to cast the final bronze version of the sculpture. Once the bronze casting is complete, all of the pieces must be meticulously welded back together - a process Councill will oversee from beginning to end.
An installation and unveiling is planned for Fall 2024 with a firm date to be announced.
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Thank you to those who committed their support to making "Harriet Beecher Stowe in Mandarin" a reality.
Orange Blossoms | $25,000 – $34,999
Rosamond Warren Allen
in honor of her great-great grandmother, Harriet Beecher Stowe
Mandarin Oaks | $10,000 – $24,999
Rosemary McCorkle
Emily and Lawrence Lisska
Thomas Davant Johns, Ph.D. and Gretchen Schaef Johns, M.D.
in memory of Thomas Joseph Agee
in honor of Sandy Arpen
Magnolias | $2500 – $9,999
Cheryl S. Cummer
Eric and Naomi Gillis
John T. Foster, Jr.
in memory Sarah Whitmer Foster
Robert Pearce and Family
in memory of Gillian Pearce
Lee and Mindy Hanna
James C. and Nancy Capps Hoover
in memory of the Hoover and Capps Families
Ferrigno Family
in honor of Hope Ferrigno
Sandy and Tracey Arpen
Colonel John T. and Judith Winkler
George Ash and Kate Arpen
Patrick Plumlee and Laura D’Alisera
in memory of their parents
Marilyn Carpenter
in memory of Pete Carpenter
Don and Pam Chandler
Janelle and Bill Watson
Derek D. and Francis M. Igou
Dr. Ian MacKenzie Farnham
Friends of Historic Mandarin | up to $2499
Bhide & Hall Architects
Matt Carlucci Insurance Agency, Inc.
Pam Neumann
in memory of Dave Neumann and Ed Ralph
John and Leyda Cooksey
Carol Hazouri
Deborah Harmon
Jim and Renee Waler
Jay Caffey
Mel and Sheryl McNichols
in honor of Sandy Arpen
Dale Rohlfing
Billy and Judy Morrow
Mr. and Mrs. James M. Barker, IV
Virginia B. Barker
Steve and Kathy Rawlins
Elizabeth Meux
Peggy and Bill Armstrong
Carol and Jeff Anderson
Byron and Marsha Peacock
Rev. and Mrs. Roger L.D. Williams
Claire King
Bonny Councill
Jeff and Carrie Councill
Pam Neumann
in honor of Carolyn Hall and Bettye Stilley
Bettye Stilley
in honor of Pam Neumann and Carolyn Hall
Gabriele Dempsey
in memory of Ruth Heerling
Anne Morrow
Leslie Anderson
Stacy Anderson
Evalyn Campbell
John and Kathleen Holler
Payson J. Tilden
Thomas Entenza
Sherry Cavanagh Cantrell
in memory of growing up in Mandarin
Friends of Gabriele Dempsey in her honor
Courtenay Wilson
Lynn McManus
Ruth Stein
Marilyn Stein
Margaret Gellatly
Blair Woolverton
Renate Hixon
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Be a supporter of arts & culture in our community through the purchase of an annual membership! Benefits at the individual, family, and patron levels include free guided walking tours of Walter Jones Historical Park, reciprocal benefits at other museums across the nation, discounts in our Museum Shop, and more!
Every contribution made through the purchase of an annual membership enables us to fulfill our mission!
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Mandarin Newsline
Read 2024 issues of the Mandarin Newsline online now!
This free newspaper allows Mandarin Museum to share history, events, and programs with the public. The newspaper remains free to readers due to the robust local advertising. Please visit, shop, and eat at those businesses who support the community in this way.
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...be sure to SLOW DOWN on Mandarin Road!
A BIG thank you to the City of Jacksonville for installing a safe crossing for pedestrians between Walter Jones Historical Park and Mandarin Presbyterian Church! The church so generously provides overflow parking for Mandarin Museum visitors when needed. Now, we can all cross the street safely without playing an intense game of Mandarin Frogger!
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More ways to stay up-to-date! | | |
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Thank you to all our community partners!
Mandarin Museum is funded, in part, through the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville and the City of Jacksonville.
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MISSION: Mandarin Museum & Historical Society shares the stories of Mandarin's history, culture, and natural resources by providing engaging programs that educate, entertain, and inspire.
VISIT. JOIN. VOLUNTEER.
Mandarin Museum & Historical Society
904-268-0784
info@mandarinmuseum.org
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