The Jazz Jam Photography Exhibit Comes to the Ritz Theatre and Museum
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. –The Jazz Jam Photography Exhibit: Jacksonville performing artists –a reflection of joy during the pandemic will be on display in the historic Ritz Theatre and Museum, a prime location in the heart of the LaVilla neighborhood opening on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 16, 2023.
Photographer, Felicia Bass uses her camera to archive joy in her exhibit at the Ritz Theatre and Museum. Her knack for angle, lighting, and subject turn moments into the eternal, forever serving as a source of inspiration. The Jacksonville-based photographer has taken a circuitous path to finding her rhythm in photography with extended stints both as a student and a professional in Maryland and Washington, D.C. Now her work is set for display at the historical Ritz Theatre and Museum known for celebrating the rich African American heritage through the stories of some of the greatest Floridians.
This unique exhibition is organized by Kailea Myrick, Museum Curator and will run January 16, 2023 to May 1, 2023. The exhibition features 26 images captured during the height of the pandemic. As safety measures allowed, Bass took a series of photos of the Wildcrafters Jazz Jam, which took place on Sunday evenings during 2020-2022 and was led by Grammy-award-winning drummer, Ulysses Owens Jr. The Jazz Jam existed in the moment, as many of the musicians that gathered there were unsure when they would have a chance to play live again. That immediacy and uncertainty about the future was expressed in their music and on their faces. Bass was there to capture those instances of pure enjoyment. Now, in her solo exhibit at the historical Ritz Theatre and Museum, this body of work represents a visual testimony that suggests joy can be certain and reassuring even in the unknown.
Born in Jacksonville, Bass graduated from William M. Raines High School, after which she headed to college in Maryland to pursue her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. After graduation and while pursuing an MBA, Bass worked for the National Institutes of Health as a Technology Transfer Manager. Her successful time there ended after eighteen years, and she found herself in New York City for a few years managing artists, but her love for Jacksonville and a youth arts organization she helped the aforementioned Owens to start, pulled her back to Duval County. She has served as Director of Operations at Don’t Miss A Beat since 2013.
It has been her time at Don’t Miss A Beat that has helped catapult her career as a photographer. Ever the problem solver, at its inception, the organization had no archivist and Bass stepped in to fill the role. Snapping images of students and visiting guest artists, Bass began to study the craft of photography while diving into the technicality of her equipment. She has made several gear upgrades from the time she started, but the mission has always remained steady: Capture the moments that change someone’s life and one can end up doing just that, changing lives.
The Ritz Theatre and Museum connects and celebrates the rich African American heritage through the stories of some of the greatest Floridians. The Museum was constructed on the site of the 1929 Ritz Theatre movie house in Jacksonville’s historic African American community of La Villa. During La Villa’s height of activity in the 1920s-1960s, it was known as the “Harlem of the South.”
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