Photo credit: JEA
Artist Patrick Maxcy spent in excess of 100 hours across three weeks of al fresco painting to install a 90-foot public mural on a JEA pump station along the St. Johns River
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jacksonville, Fla. (Dec. 12, 2025) – Privately funded by the Jacksonville Environmental Protection Board (JEPB), the PNC Foundation, and Haskell, a 90-foot mural circling the JEA pump station under the Fuller Warren Bridge is one of the city’s newest public art installations. The location is adjacent to the St. Johns River on the site of Riverside Arts Market (RAM), one of the region’s most recognized markets held every Saturday, featuring more than 150 local artists, farmers, makers, and businesses.
Riverside Avondale Preservation (RAP) opened a seven-week public call for artists for the mural on July 2 and received 70 submissions. The call for artists asked for concepts that would inspire those observing the mural to appreciate water as a vital force and evoke a sense of stewardship for the river and its surrounding environment. A selection committee spent 60 hours jurying artists’ submissions to narrow down the 70 submissions to three finalists that were presented to JEA leadership, which ultimately named Patrick Maxcy as the artist for the project. The selection committee comprised members representing RAP’s Placemaking Committee, RAM, JEA, JEPB, PNC Foundation, Haskell, Hardbarger Painting, and Phoenix Arts & Innovation District.
Maxcy spent more than 100 hours over the span of three weeks to complete the 17-foot tall mural, titled “Abundant Waters.” His design features various species of sea life and also includes a number of hidden hearts, which represent his family and loved ones who have and continue to support his artistic journey.
Considering all time exhausted on the project, as well as the amount of private funds secured to make it a reality, the mural represents RAP’s most substantial placemaking initiative of the year. RAP’s placemaking efforts, led by Placemaking Specialist Kandice Clark, are to preserve, maintain, and enhance public places in the Riverside and Avondale historic district through collaboratively working with the community members and partners.
In addition to the private funding, Haymaker Coffee Co. helped fund the mural by donating a percentage of sales during a period of time earlier this year. Hardbarger Painting provided $4,000 of in-kind services to properly prepare the surface of the JEA pump station before Maxcy began his work, and Sunbelt Rentals provided essential equipment in kind for the project, also at a value of $4,000.
About Riverside Avondale Preservation
The purpose and mission of Riverside Avondale Preservation, Inc., colloquially known as RAP, is to preserve, enhance, and celebrate the historic fabric, arts, culture, local businesses, and public spaces of the Riverside and Avondale neighborhoods in Jacksonville, Fla. The weekly Riverside Arts Market, under the administration of RAP, is hosted every Saturday under the canopy of the Fuller Warren Bridge from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., rain or shine. For more information, visit www.riversideavondale.org
About Riverside Arts Market
Produced by Riverside Avondale Preservation (RAP), the Riverside Arts Market, colloquially known as RAM, is a true loyal-to-local market featuring more than 150 artists, farmers, makers, and entrepreneurs from the immediate region. Founded in 2009, RAM also includes the River Stage, offering the community free entertainment through local musical, dance, and other cultural interest activities. RAM operates every Saturday, rain or shine, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, visit www.riversideartsmarket.org.
About JEA
JEA is a municipal utility providing safe, reliable and affordable services to more than one million residents across four Northeast Florida counties. JEA is not owned by investors and does not earn a profit. It was created by the City of Jacksonville to meet the electricity and water needs of those who live in Jacksonville and surrounding communities. JEA’s 2,200-plus workforce is dedicated to meeting customer needs, both today and for generations to come, while protecting our precious natural resources and supporting our region’s growth and economic development. Learn more at jea.com.
About Jacksonville Environmental Protection Board
The Environmental Protection Board consists of nine members, appointed for four-year terms, who are chosen to represent industry, conservationist organizations, professional engineers, the medical profession, and the general public. This board develops regulations necessary for administration and enforcement of the city’s environmental laws. It monitors investigations of complaints conducted by the Environmental Quality Division, takes testimony in matters under its jurisdiction and provides a hearing platform for environmental matters within the city. The EPB also conducts public outreach programs for schools, teachers, civic and private organizations.
About the PNC Foundation
The PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group (www.pnc.com), actively supports organizations that provide services for the benefit of communities in which it has a significant presence. The foundation focuses its philanthropic mission on early childhood education and community and economic development, which includes the arts and culture. Through PNC Grow Up Great®, its signature cause that began in 2004, PNC has created a bilingual $500 million, multiyear initiative to help prepare children from birth to age 5 for success in school and life. For more information, visit PNC Foundation.
About Haskell
Haskell delivers more than $2 billion annually in architecture, engineering, construction (AEC), and consulting solutions to assure certainty of outcome for complex capital projects worldwide. Haskell is a global, fully integrated, single-source design-build and EPC firm with over 2,600 highly specialized, in-house design, construction and administrative professionals across industrial and commercial markets. With more than 25 office locations around the globe, Haskell is a trusted partner for global and emerging clients.
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