BA University of North Florida
Chip Southworth is an art advocate and a critically acclaimed studio artist whose work is collected nationally, has exhibited extensively throughout Florida, from Art Basel in Miami to the Cummer Museum in Jacksonville and has produced for several commercial clients that include national campaigns.
In 2014, Chip captured the imagination of Jacksonville when the city council failed to pass a human rights ordinance. Taking to the streets as “Keith Haring’s Ghost,” he anonymously painted Keith Haring-inspired pieces on public utility boxes in the dark of night. The street art sparked conversation and controversy, culminating in a raid on his home and police taking the artist into custody and spurring an unprecedented amount of public dialogue and support. After which he gave a TED talk on the project and worked with City representatives that resulted in the City of Jacksonville changing 18 laws and ordinances prohibiting art in the the city landscape.