Jacksonville Today Arts and Culture Editor Matt Shaw shares his arts and culture picks for the weekend.
Friday & Saturday
Symphonie Fantastique
Jacoby Symphony Hall | Downtown Jacksonville
The Jacksonville Symphony closes out its 2023-2024 season with French Romantic composer Hector Berlioz’s Fantastic Symphony and a contemporary piece from Thomas Adès’ 2016 opera The Exterminating Angel. (For those lamenting the end of the season, the symphony has already announced its 2024-2025 season lineup.) Performances: 7:30 p.m. Jacoby Symphony Hall at the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are $20 for patrons under 40, and with the purchase of an adult ticket, a kid gets in free. Other tickets start at $31. Tickets and more info.
Friday
Exalted Shores
Beaches Museum | Jacksonville Beach
Northeast Florida’s distinctive coastline gets the fine-art treatment in Exalted Shores, an exhibit of new works by two Duval artists, photographer Tom Schifanella and the glass artist Clint Burbridge. An opening reception is held at the Beaches Museum on Friday from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. $5 for non-members. More information and registration.
Saturday-Sunday
Get Your Learn On Tour & Artful Healing Class
Cummer Museum & Gardens | Riverside
Upgrade your Cummer Museum experience with two extras this weekend. On Saturday, take the hour-long Get Your Learn On Tour of the Cummer’s current exhibitions and permanent collection. The journey begins at 2:15 p.m. and it’s free with museum admission. Then on Sunday, gather in the revered institution’s riverfront gardens for Artful Healing, a tai chi and sound bath experience to elevate your mind and body toward a more peaceful start to the new week. 11 a.m. Registration: $20-25.
Saturday
Free Saturdays at MOCA
MOCA Jacksonville | Downtown Jacksonville
MOCA guests enjoy free admission every Saturday, and, as the museum is in the midst of its 100th-year celebration, this Saturday is as good a day as any to check what’s currently on view. Of note, A Walk on the Wild Side explores an undeniably fertile time (and place) in contemporary art –1970s New York City – with works by Andy Warhol, Philip Glass, David Bowie, Yoko Ono and Robert Mapplethorpe. Voices of Moncrief features the multi-media work of University of North Florida Student-In-Residence Elysa Adams (who will also be hosting a studio practice on Saturday), and, Stacked Stars, a site-specific installation created by influential American artist Frank Stella currently fills the museum’s atrium. More info.