The UnVacant Lot
Banner| The Longleaf Pine, Paper Mache Squirrels Inspired by Dave Junker
Located in the heart of Thomasville’s downtown Creative District, this ever-changing public art space brings together artists, ideas, and community. For Voices of the Pineland, this small urban lot becomes something entirely unexpected: a doorway into the wild landscape of the Red Hills.
Voices of the Pineland
Thomasville Center for the Arts + Tall Timbers + David Junker, Artist
Guest creatives Elva Rubio and Jenny Wrenn
On View | November 5, 2026 – January 25, 2027
Wildlife Arts Festival Kickoff + Public Art Unveiling
Thursday, Nov. 5 | 5:30 – 7:00pm
Free & open to the public.
Step off West Jackson Street and into the Pineland, where the UnVacant Lot becomes an immersive public art experience inspired by the longleaf pine forests of the Red Hills—one of North America’s most biologically diverse landscapes and a place that has shaped our region’s natural and cultural identity.
Created by Thomasville Center for the Arts in partnership with Tall Timbers and featuring the work of Wildlife Arts Festival artist David Junker, the installation brings together art, conservation, and place to tell the story of a landscape that is both beautiful and remarkably alive.
Voices of the Pineland explores what lives here, why it is here—and what it takes to keep it here.
The longleaf pine landscape we recognize today is a living ecosystem shaped through thoughtful stewardship, conservation, and the careful use of practices such as prescribed fire. The installation invites visitors to look more closely at the relationships between land, wildlife, and people—and at the important role each of us can play in preserving the places we call home.
A Special Thanks to our Generous Public Art Sponsors:
The Artist
David R. Junker
Born in Freeport, Grand Bahama, David R. Junker grew up between the Bahamas and South Florida. Fun-loving, creative, and full of God’s grace, David has long appreciated faith, family, nature, and art.
Working in watercolor, papier-mâché, and other media, David brings warmth, humor, and personality to the animals and objects he creates by hand. His love of the natural world shines through his work, where even the smallest creature takes on its own character.
A graduate of Florida State University’s Fine Arts Program, David earned a Bachelor of Science degree. He shares his creativity through teaching homeschool students, Art in the Afternoon students at Thomasville Center for the Arts, and children in his church program, and has created illustrations for several local writers.
Art That Travels Beyond the Lot
At the Tall Timbers walk-about station, young visitors can create their own bracelet by choosing a band and an animal charm representing a native species they want to “adopt.” As they assemble their bracelet, they also receive a letter from that animal—designed to teach, inspire, and reward them while helping them understand the conservation practices that support the species’ survival.
Through these handmade bracelets, animal stories, and Festival experiences, the project brings the message of the pinelands into the community, creating a meaningful connection between the next generation and the landscape around them.
Come into the pines. Listen closely. Every species has a story.
Morning in the Red Hills
Joe Cowdrey
Installed 2020 + 2022 | Ongoing
Morning in the Tall Pines + Morning at the Fresh Spring
In Morning at the Fresh Spring, Joe Cowdrey draws inspiration from the iconic attributes of the Red Hills Region and portrays the fresh and clean water of our region. Cowdrey’s other project, Morning in the Tall Pines, uses similar inspiration from the surrounding forested areas setting the scene for a misty morning in the longleaf pine forest.
Past Exhibitions
