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Artists commissioned for Jaguars’ new sports performance center

Published on March 29, 2023 at 12:02 pm
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Six artists — including one from Jacksonville — will infuse the Jacksonville Jaguars’ new training center with public art.

The Jaguars and the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville announced that the six are:

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  • Aisling Millar McDonald of Jacksonville, who will will produce a 16-foot-talll powder-coated, mild steel sculpture, representing various aspects of a community stepping up and coming together to support and elevate its future. The artwork will be outside the team entry lobby.
  • Casto Solano of Vitoria Gasteiz, Spain, who will create an 8-foot-wide illuminated sculpture of a jaguar head that will be installed on a pedestal south of the public lobby.
  • Will DuBois of Missouri, who will produce four sculptural goal post-shaped bike racks for fan use.
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  • Timothy R. Smith of California, who will produce a monumental mural for the north exterior facade of Miller Electric Center’s indoor practice field, measuring over 400 feet wide, celebrating all that makes Northeast Florida unique.
  • Arlin Graff of Ohio, who will design two murals on vinyl for the fan amenity grandstand area that celebrate football in #DUUUVAL.
  • DAAS of North Carolina, who will produce an additional mural on vinyl for the amenity grandstand area that highlights the athlete.

Miller Electric Center, under construction next to TIAA Bank Field, will be the new home of the Jaguars’ football operations. Installation of the artwork is expected to be completed before the 2023 Jaguars season begins, with the facility opening this summer.

More than 150 artists from around the world answered a call for artists from the Cultural Council. Submissions represented 25 states and nine countries.

McDonald was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1982 and immigrated to the Vero Beach area in August 1994. She moved to Jacksonville in 2000 to attend the University of North Florida. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 2005 a bachelor’s in ceramics and sculpture in 2011. She received her master’s degree in sculpture from East Carolina University in 2014.

She is an adjunct professor of 3-D Design, 2-D Design and Drawing I at the University of North Florida and has worked for Duval County Public Schools, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Cathedral Arts Project, the Ponte Vedra Cultural Center, and Art with a Heart at Wolfson Children’s Hospital.

Aisling Millar McDonald of Jacksonville will produce “Rising Coalescence,” a 16-foot-tall, powder-coated, mild steel sculpture. It will represent various aspects of a community coming together to support and elevate its future.

McDonald has completed public sculpture commissions for the city of Amelia Island, the city of Atlantic Beach and for the Jax Chamber. Her work is also in public collections in Greenville, North Carolina, and Macon, Georgia.

“There is a unique dialogue between a community and its public art that continues to grow andchange with time,” McDonald said in a news release. “I sincerely hope that the public will enjoy my piece, Rising Coalescence, at the Miller Electric Center, and I look forward to the future of Jacksonville and its public art.”

The Jaguars fully funded the art pieces at Miller Electric Center.

“The Jacksonville Jaguars investment into public art demonstrates an intentional elevation of Northeast Regional, national and international creative talent,” Diana Donovan, executive director of the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville, said in the news release.

Jaguars President Mark Lamping said the art captures the spirit of the team and the identity of the Jacksonville community.

“It’s our hope this investment in public art brings our fans a feeling of team pride and gives our corner of downtown a sense of place,” Lamping said. “Whether you’re visiting training camp or passing by on the highway, you’ll know you’re in Northeast Florida.”


author image Senior News Editor

Randy comes to Jacksonville from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, where as metro editor, he led investigative coverage of the Parkland school shooting that won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for public service. He has spent more than 40 years in reporting and editing positions in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio and Florida. 


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