Jax Contemporary exhibition accepting applications in September
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — MOCA Jacksonville, a cultural institute of the University of North Florida, is excited to launch Jax Contemporary, a triennial juried art exhibition bringing to the fore the artistic talent in the Greater Jacksonville and Northeast Florida region, including Flagler, Putnam, Baker, Clay, St. Johns, Duval, and Nassau Counties. Submissions open Sep. 9, 2024, and close Oct. 11, 2024. More information can be found online at https://mocajacksonville.unf.edu/exhibitions/featured/jax-contemporary-call-to-artists.html
This initiative is intended to deepen the museum’s relationship with the local arts community and to foster the growth of the arts ecosystem of the area.
To this end, an important professional development component will be included for the artist finalists, including professional guidance, studio visits, and critique from MOCA’s Senior Curator Ylva Rouse, together with Adeze Wilford, Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, who will also help select the work to be on display in the exhibition. These studio visits facilitate meaningful discourse between the artist and the curators and are an essential step to connecting Jacksonville-based artists to a broader network of curators and institutions.
In addition, the participating artists will have an opportunity to talk more broadly about their work during Artist Talks. These will take place in the MOCA Theater throughout the exhibition during Museum Nights and VyStar Free Saturdays, which are high traffic days with free entrance to the public. In this way, Jax Contemporary seeks to support and promote the contemporary art practices of our area, sharing the broad vitality of artistic voices representing this moment in history in Jacksonville with the general public.
Jax Contemporary fulfills MOCA’s mission by activating and engaging our local communities in contemporary art, offering patrons an opportunity to connect with local artists and cultural producers that explore national contemporary aesthetic discourses and ideas from a Florida First Coast perspective.
Artist Prizes to be announced.
Jax Contemporary is presented by Dolf and Anna James, with additional support from the City of Jacksonville, the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville, the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, Florida Blue, the MOCA Board Alumni Council, MOCA Inaugural Director’s Circle Members, MOCA Board of Trustees, and the University of North Florida, Visit Jacksonville, and VyStar Credit Union.
ABOUT MOCA JACKSONVILLE
The Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, a cultural institute of the University of North Florida, celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2024, as the oldest art museum in the region and one of the oldest art museums to be established in the United States. This celebration year is an opportunity for MOCA to give back to the community that has been its home for a century by presenting groundbreaking exhibitions and programs that will engage the community and elevate Jacksonville as a regional destination for arts and culture.
One hundred years ago, a group of visionary local women artists came together to imagine the kind of city they wanted Jacksonville to be — the kind of community they wanted to live in and be a part of. At the core of their vision for a rich, vital, dynamic city were art, culture, and education. Thus, what we now call MOCA Jacksonville was born — first as a series of exhibitions by artists of the day, used as a fundraising tool to support public school education; then as a guild; and later as an art museum and educational leader.
A century later, MOCA’s mission remains focused on the art, artists, and ideas of our time, with a vision that unites education, creativity, and community building in the heart of downtown Jacksonville. Throughout 2024, MOCA will celebrate its centennial year — looking to the past to recognize the legacy of the visionary leaders and important milestones that have brought us to this point; marking this moment with extraordinary exhibitions and programs that will not only elevate MOCA, but provide a stimulus and create an energized destination for our Downtown to build upon; and imagine the future that we want for our great city, nourishing our community through art and culture for the next 100 years.
For more information including hours of operation, admission prices and upcoming exhibitions and programs, call 904.366.6911 or visit mocajacksonville.unf.edu.
For questions regarding the open call applications, contact mocacuratorial@unf.edu
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