{"id":172183,"date":"2026-02-27T23:35:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T23:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/172183\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T23:35:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T23:35:07","slug":"unfs-talks-with-tacos-connects-students-with-public-art-careers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/172183\/","title":{"rendered":"UNF\u2019s \u2018Talks with Tacos\u2019 connects students with public art careers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The University of North Florida brought together artists and arts leaders on Thursday for an engaging conversation to provide students with insight into various careers.<\/p>\n

This event highlighted careers in public art that involve collaboration with professionals in art and design, as well as experiences working on sculptures, murals, and public art projects.<\/p>\n

On Feb. 26, the University of North Florida\u2019s Department of Art, Art History, and Design hosted Talks with Tacos: Public Art. Four guest speakers, including UNF faculty, alumni, and community partners, spoke at this event, according to the UNF events website<\/a>. They shared their experiences creating sculptures, murals, and public art projects.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Talkin\u2019 Tacos were available for students to eat and socialize. Jennifer Graham is the department\u2019s administrative secretary and event organizer, according to UNF\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"BlackAna Brown<\/a>
Talkin\u2019 Tacos were available for students to eat and socialize.<\/p>\n

At the University of North Florida\u2019s Department of Art, Art History, and Design, public art plays a vital educational and community role, Graham said. \u201cIt serves as hands-on learning, giving students real-world experience designing and installing large-scale works such as the UNF Seaside Sculpture Park. Engaging with the arts helps students become more innovative, culturally aware, and well-rounded professionals\u2014regardless of their major. \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese events expose students to new perspectives, problem-solving approaches, and cultural conversations that enhance critical thinking and communication skills,\u201d Graham said. \u201cThey also offer networking opportunities, interdisciplinary inspiration, and a deeper connection to campus life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diverse career pathways through community art<\/p>\n

According to the UNF events page, Kat Wright, director of public art for the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville, attended Talks with Tacos: Public Art. In her role, Wright oversees the council\u2019s public art initiatives, providing leadership and strategic direction for arts programming.<\/p>\n

Art students have to extend beyond artistic practice to create public art, Wright said. \u201cThey need to collaborate with other designers, urban planners, transportation engineers, surveyors, etc., depending on the project. It\u2019s definitely a marriage between the right and left brains. It\u2019s not only art students who can connect to a creative career. Students from many different degree paths are needed to shape the built environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville website<\/a> said that public art programming also has clear ties to economic development through increased property values, destination building, business attraction, and a rich quality of life.<\/p>\n

Communities shaped by public art<\/p>\n

According to the Americans for the Arts<\/a> Public Art Network Council\u2019s green paper, \u201cWhy Public Art Matters,\u201d cities gain cultural, social, and economic value from public art. Public art is a distinguished part of our public history and culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough open conversations, students learn about real-world career paths, professional challenges, and practical skills such as portfolio development, networking, and navigating the art world,\u201d Graham said. \u201cAttending free art events like Talks with Tacos at the University of North Florida is valuable for all students\u2014not just art majors \u2014 because creativity and visual literacy benefit every field.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

For more information or news tips, or if you see an error in this story or have any compliments or concerns, contact\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The University of North Florida brought together artists and arts leaders on Thursday for an engaging conversation to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":172184,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-172183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172183\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}