Contact: Stan Cleiland, Vice President, Community Relations and Strategic Communications
(904) 358-6366 • scleiland@wjct.org
For Immediate Release
WJCT and The Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville Partner to Present The New Online Series ‘The Square’
(Jacksonville, FL, November 5, 2014); WJCT Public Broadcasting in partnership with the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville presents the new online series, The Square. This virtual venue provides local artists an online opportunity to share their work with the community and compete for a chance to be featured on WJCT Public Broadcasting.
WJCT President and CEO Michael Boylan says, “The Square not only provides an outlet for First Coast artists to reach new audiences, but it also offers the community an opportunity to enjoy parts of First Coast culture they might otherwise not have access to, which aligns with WJCT’s mission to use its unique assets as a resource for citizens to come together.” This partnership with the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville will help The Square further its reach into the arts community.
WJCT Senior Producer and Director of Content Stephen Jones says, “We’re excited about it. There’s a lot of talent here on the First Coast.” Jones, who has been with WJCT since 2005 and received a Suncoast Emmy in 2013 believes that The Square can change the way art is discovered and enjoyed on the First Coast. “Sometimes things go viral but there’s really no central place dedicated to showing the work of local artists and that’s what we want The Square to be.”
Cultural Council Executive Director Tony Allegretti says, “Being an artist in Jacksonville can be greatly satisfying, but it can also be very hard to catch a break. We know that our commitment to the advancement of local artists combined with WJCT’s bandwidth and dedication to arts and culture will make a powerful medium that will create the exposure for these artists that they deserve.” Each quarter, The Square will showcase new artists. Artists can submit their work during a two month period. Following this period, the community can vote for artists during a one month period. When the voting period has ended, WJCT will work with the top three artists to produce a video that will air between programming on WJCT. Additionally, the top artist will be a guest on WJCT’s First Coast Connect radio program on 89.9FM. Artists interested in submitting their work for consideration will find more information at www.wjct.org/thesquare/submit.
WJCT is the community-supported public broadcasting station for the First Coast. For more information about WJCT’s programming, news and events, visit wjct.org and news.wjct.org.
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