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North Florida's only arts and business magazine that contains substance with a cultural twist, and a heart for promoting arts education in the community. Arbus is the recipient of the prestigious North Florida Cultural Council’s 2002 Award for Excellence in the Arts. 28,000 copies of Arbus are distributed and available free throughout North Florida. Subscriptions are also available.

This Issue’s Feature Stories

Publisher’s Note

Publisher’s Note

BY Cinda Sherman, Publisher

Well, here we are (finally!) in 2010. 2009 was the year of the Ox in Chinese astrology, and even though it was supposed to be a good year for those born under the sign of the Ox–an animal that carries (your) heavy burdens (according to the Chinese), it was a year in which most of us carried our own heavy burdens. Many people and businesses I know struggled throughout 2009. Hopefully, 2010 will bring about positive changes. 

Cover: Mackenzie Thorpe: New milestone collection at R. Roberts

Cover: Mackenzie Thorpe: New milestone collection at R. Roberts

The artist responsible for this month’s Arbus cover art, Mackenzie Thorpe, is internationally renowned for his iconic images...especially those featuring children: “My ambition is to unite the world through the eyes of these children and let today’s cultures understand that in order to sustain our societies, we must protect and nurture our children, and also protect and nurture the child within us all,” Thorpe says. “It is our responsibility to love these children, to let them bring love back to the world, and to keep our eyes open to the wonderment of childhood.”

Marilyn Mania at MOCA Jacksonville

Marilyn Mania at MOCA Jacksonville

BY Deborah Broder, Director, MOCA Jacksonville

Marilyn Monroe has one of the most recognized faces in the world. Over thirty years after her death, the public continues to have a fascination with the 50s Hollywood bombshell with her trademark platinum hair.

Love and the Muse – How Creative Couples Fuse Both

Love and the Muse – How Creative Couples Fuse Both

BY Janet Herrick

So much about what it is to be an artist is doing the work. It is like being an athlete: one never stops training in order to excel. Relationships requires the same commitment.
Three North Florida couples know exactly what that kind of personal and professional commitment looks like, and they all find that balancing art and love are like balancing two parts of the same whole.

Artists of Fortune

Artists of Fortune

BY Wesley Grissom

Forty years ago, under Mao Zedong, the Cultural Revolution destroyed thousands of years of China’s rich history in a mere decade of cultural suppression. Since then, Chinese art has gradually evolved past harsh state defined aesthetics to a revived creative culture exemplifying individuality while emphasizing new concepts and materials.

The  Treasure  of  Xi’an in  Jacksonville

The Treasure of Xi’an in Jacksonville

BY Madeleine Peck

When thinking of China lots of things come to mind, most recently the Olympics. But long before China was in the news for all things bird’s nest related, it was the repository of Western dreams of exploration and conquest. And its hold on the collective imagination of the world is not unfounded.