MOCA Jacksonville announces artists for upcoming Jax Contemporary Exhibition
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, a cultural institute of the University of North Florida, is excited to announce the inaugural Jax Contemporary: MOCA Jacksonville Arts Triennial exhibition presented by Dolf and Anna James launching this spring. This exhibition series will bring to the fore the artistic talent in the Greater Jacksonville and Northeast Florida region, including artists from Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam, and St. Johns Counties. The exhibition opens to the public on March 29, 2025. Meet the artists during the public hour of the Spring Exhibition Opening Celebration on April 10, 2025 from 8-9 p.m. Members and Donors receive early access. Learn more at https://www.eventbrite.com/myevent?eid=1218716105679.
SELECTED ARTISTS
Robert Dewitt Adams
Todd Alexander
Åke Arnerdal
Gail Beveridge
Holly Blanton
Deshonna Buchanan
Christopher Clark
Laura Colomb
Joshua Cooper
Adell Coulliette III
Mark Creegan
Sarah Crooks
Yna Cruz
Alexander Diaz
Keith Doles
Overstreet Ducasse
Douglas Eng
David Engdahl
Crystal Floyd
Lenny Foster
Mico Fuentes
Camille Garzon
Mark George
Karolina Girciene
Sheila Goloborotko
Jordan Groff
Jenny Hager
Dustin Harewood
Sandy Harrington
Marsha Hatcher
Ethan Helow
Stephen Heywood
Mary Joan Hinson
Hillary Hogue
Ana Ion
Jason John
Erin Kendrick
Amer Kobaslija
Lily Kuonen
Jan Master
Brandon Mata
Kaz McCue
J. Adam McGalliard
Pam Meyer
Hiromi Moneyhun
Laura Mongiovi
Dawn Inglis Montgomery
Susan Ober
Elena Øhlander
Tanner Pletzke
Zakriya Rabani
Michael Rakim
Princess Simpson Rashid
Storm Rowland
Russell Satterthwaite
Susanne Schuenke
Chip Southworth
Shaun Thurston
Lance Vickery
Z (Jacob) Wan
Jeff Whipple
Edison William
Larry Wilson
Vivien Zink
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Following the celebration of its centenary in 2024, MOCA Jacksonville is launching Jax Contemporary, a triennial art exhibition highlighting the immense talent of artists in Northeast Florida. Artists were invited to submit their applications in late 2024. Since then, each of the nearly 500 applications were reviewed by MOCA Senior Curator Ylva Rouse and Guest Curator Adeze Wilford and the final 64 artists were selected to be in the exhibition. Through this exhibition, MOCA seeks to support and promote the contemporary art practices of our area, sharing the broad vitality of artistic voices representing this moment in Jacksonville’s history with the general public.
This exhibition series, which will take place every three years, is intended to highlight and expand the museum’s relationship with the local arts community and to foster the growth of the arts ecosystem of the area. To accomplish this, the artist finalists will have access to vital professional development opportunities, including professional guidance, studio visits and critiques, and opportunities to engage with the community around their artwork and artistic practice through artist talks and programs.
To this end, an important professional development component has been included for the artist finalists, including professional guidance, studio visits, and critiques from MOCA’s Senior Curator, Ylva Rouse, MOCA Director Caitlín Doherty and visiting curator, Adeze Wilford, who also helped to 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.
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 Talks will take place in the MOCA Theater throughout the exhibition during Museum Nights and VyStar Free Saturdays, which are high traffic days offering free access to the public.
Jax Contemporary: MOCA Jacksonville Arts Triennial is made possible through the generous support of Presenting Sponsors Dolf and Anna James and Exhibition Underwriters Douglas Anderson School of the Arts Foundation and Florida State College at Jacksonville. Additional support for this exhibition was made in part by the City of Jacksonville, the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville, the MOCA Board of Trustees, MOCA Director’s Circle, and the University of North Florida. Special thanks to Crystal Floyd at CoRK Art Studios; and Adeze Wilford, Blackmon Perry Curator of African American Art & Art of the African Diaspora at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis TN, who served as juror together with MOCA Executive Director Caitlín Doherty and Senior Curator Ylva Rouse.
We invite the community to experience Jax Contemporary at MOCA Jacksonville through November 9, 2025. Regular admission applies. MOCA Jacksonville is open Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Free access is available to the entire community each week during VyStar Free Saturdays at MOCA and from 5-9 p.m. on the first and third Wednesday of each month during Free Museum Nights at MOCA presented by Florida Blue.
MEDIA PORTAL
Press releases, and images of the artist’s work, along with cutlines are available at the link below for use. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/cgdbfj5fn8tiqxani9kie/AHRzo1xf3lGjQ1EGIqIGHG8?rlkey=so56k8z8fbn3ullfkq3v9pjv9&st=ow14fnbu&dl=0
ABOUT MOCA JACKSONVILLE
Founded in 1924, the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville was the first visual arts organization in Jacksonville, one of the first art museums in the state of Florida, and one of the first contemporary art museums to be founded in the United States.
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. MOCA is committed to offering extraordinary exhibitions and programs that not only elevate the museum but provide a stimulus and create an energized destination for our Downtown to build upon.
For more information including hours of operation, admission prices and upcoming exhibitions and programs, call 904.366.6911 or visit mocajacksonville.unf.edu.
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