Born to a folk carpenter in the coastal province of Fujian, China, the Gainesville-based artist established himself in art spaces through Chinese calligraphy brushes and oil paintings.
The sound of people speaking Chinese, Japanese or Tagalog layer over K-pop harmonies. The smell of Indian spices floats in from next door. It’s the sight, sound and smell of home. Located on the corner of Southwest 34th Street and Archer Road and nicknamed “Gainesville’s Chinatown” by some for its high concentration of Asian restaurants, there are more than 15 Asian businesses within a mile of each other.
Johnny Nguyen found he enjoyed the comfort of a pencil in his hand from an early age while growing up in Urbana, Illinois. Now a recent graduate from UF in business management and economics, the 21-year-old artist still loves to work with his hands. Most of his paintings were studies of different artists, but lately, he’s been inspired by Franklin Booth’s illustrations and Studio Ghibli films because of the attention to detail and whimsical nature.
On May 9, Sublime Tacos announced its plans to close its 4th Ave Food Park location and move to a drive-thru-only location at 1818 NE Waldo Road in East Gainesville. The announcement gives hope to East Gainesville residents who are excited to see more food options moving to their side of town.
Anchored between the crevices of the universe where time and space exist, the play “Silent Sky” shines an honest light through the timeless story of an empowered astronomer flourishing in a space dominated by men and their science.
A full house of punk-rockers dressed in their best black tank tops, skinny jeans and fishnet tights met Laura Jane Grace’s heavily anticipated return to Gainesville.
From 3 p.m. on April 15 to 2 a.m. the following morning, around 600 people gathered at the Celebrations Catering Warehouse, located at 317 NE 35 Ave., for Gainesville’s first hip-hop music festival. The lineup featured Localhotboy, Madwoman, Ladyboy, Raphdidit, Chuck Strangers, Kaelin Ellis and Zack Fox.
Muslims, like Ealyes Mohammed, started fasting March 23 to observe Ramadan, the ninth month in the Islamic lunar calendar when Muslims don’t eat or drink from sunrise to sunset every day until they see a new moon, signifying the start of the next month in the Islamic calendar.
Every morning before heading into the orange groves for his shift, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings State Park tour guide Rick Mulligan reads one of the titular author’s letters. He tries to pick a letter that was written on the date he’s going in, to get a sense of how she was feeling that day.
Many creatives in Gainesville have taken sustainability into account by upcycling used items into art pieces, trading materials or promoting a connection to nature. As global temperatures continue to rise, some artists have begun centering their creative processes around preventing environmental ruin to slow climate change.
Gainesville’s Pop Punk and Emo Nite, a monthly event hosted at various venues like The Wooly and the new Vivid Music Hall, has now become a hallmark of Gainesville’s nightlife scene.
Ruby Sunshine, an all-day brunch restaurant chain, is set to open its doors to the greater Gainesville public this summer. The restaurant will join other retail locations in occupying Butler Town Center, located at 3600 SW 32nd Court.
Posing Beauty is now on display at the Harn Museum of Art, located at 3259 Hull Road, and will remain there until June.
About 50 UF medical students and faculty who participate in White Coat Company, a theater group that performs about two productions per year for the children at Shands.
DragonBox Theatre, a local aerial arts, puppetry, performance and workshop theater company, often puts on shows at How Bazar’s Night Festival and other events. Griffin Wulf can be seen walking around the streets of downtown Gainesville on stilts or twisting several feet above the ground, while George O’Brien, the other co-founder of DragonBox Theatre, will usually have one of his marionettes.
Valeria Rosich has always loved flowers — especially bougainvillea, a tropical plant her mom grew in her home of Caracas, Venezuela. She loved bougainvillea so much, she said she used them to make her first piece of jewelry at age 19.
Dance Alive Studios brought the timeless ballet “Swan Lake” back to the Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts March 25. A recently announced facility is also helping Dance Alive turn the page into a new era.
Flocked is a collective in Gainesville for artists and bands to work together for promotion, booking and performances. Founded around last November, the organization has helped artists book statewide tours, held a benefit show and started “Live from the Tavern,” a video series of intimate house shows.
When he was young, Elio Piedra wanted to be a soccer player. His career in music and the entertainment world was an accident.
“Tu Fiesta Radio Presents: LPT Latin Salsa Orchestra” took place at the Heartwood Soundstage from 7-11 p.m. and included music by the salsa orchestra from Jacksonville, LPT, and by Elio Piedra, the main radio host, along with two Latin musicians Luis “Torpedo” Aponte and Jorge Tamayo.
Solutions by The State News
