Jacksonville News

New Robert Rauschenberg Exhibition & Summer Programs at MOCA Jacksonville

CONTACT:

Amber Sesnick, Director of Communications & Marketing

amber.sesnick@unf.edu // 904.620.3224

New Robert Rauschenberg Exhibition & Summer Programs at MOCA Jacksonville

Stay cool and get creative exploring the arts, artists, and ideas of our time

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville (MOCA), a cultural institute of the University of North Florida, presents a new exhibition and its programs and events scheduled for the summer. Honoring Rauschenberg commemorates the 100^th birthday of artist Robert Rauschenberg, whose artistic practice inspired generations of artists. The exhibition is on view in the museum’s lobby, which is always free to visit during the museum’s open hours, from June 21 – October 19, 2025.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

The exhibition celebrates Robert Rauschenberg’s (1925-2008) expansive creativity, spirit of curiosity, and commitment to change. The breadth of Rauschenberg’s transdisciplinary and collaborative practice, as well as his wide-ranging and enduring commitment to philanthropy, are not widely known. Following his first trip to China in 1982, he developed Rauschenberg Overseas Culture Interchange (ROCI), an active global program of traveling exhibitions and cultural dialogues intended to bring people closer through art. He would receive the National Medal of Arts in 1993.

Robert Rauschenberg’s own artistic practice revolved around integrating “the real world” into his art, and he famously stated, “I want a picture to look like something it is.” This vision led him to incorporate found objects ranging from taxidermized animals to newspaper clippings and photographs into his work. His famous “Combines” would further blur the distinctions between painting and sculpture. His collaborative work with other great artists such as John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Jasper Johns, and Cy Twombly had a decisive influence on post-war art and the fields of dance, music, painting, and sculpture. Rauschenberg’s enduring influence on generations of artists and advocates for social progress cannot be overstated. 

EXHIBITION & PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Time is running out to see the UNF Student Artist-in-Residence exhibition, Dustin Sims: Nature Re:Wired, featuring kinetic animal sculptures made from previously discarded materials. Plus, visitors can vote for their favorite artwork in Jax Contemporary, the exhibition highlighting 64 local artists. Learn more during Jax Contemporary Artist Talks that take place the first Wednesday of every month and select Saturdays. Upcoming speaking artists include Sarah Crooks, Gail Beveridge, and Jason John.

Weekly sessions of Summer Camp @ MOCA run through August 8. Kids ages 6-14 are inspired with weekly themes, including Figure & Character Drawing, Comics & Animation, 3D Design & Sculpture, Painting, and Art of the Theater. Space is limited.

Additional programming such as art workshops, yoga in the galleries, and free movie nights take place throughout the summer. The museum offers free admission every Saturday thanks to the support of VyStar Credit Union and every first and third Wednesday evening during Museum Nights @ MOCA presented by Florida Blue. Military families and first responders receive free access through Veterans Day, presented by CSX and in partnership with the Blue Star Museums initiative.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:

Summer Camp @ MOCA
Weekly Sessions for Ages 6-14

Jun–Aug | 9 a.m.–4 p.m. | $350
Family level members and above, UNF students, faculty, and staff save 15%. Includes optional extended care from 8-9 a.m. and 4-5 p.m. Projects vary between age groups, which are divided into ages 6-8, 9-11, 12-14.

Free Movie Nights

3rd Wednesdays During Free Museum Nights @ MOCA presented by Florida Blue

Jul 16 – Flow

Aug 20 – Anselm
Concessions available from Setlan Coffee and the MOCA Bar

Ideas of Our Time: Jax Contemporary Artist Talks
Taking place in the MOCA Theater during free admission days, these artist talks showcase those selected for the exhibition on view on the third floor of the museum. Each artist will have the opportunity to speak for thirty minutes, providing insight to their work and practice.

Wed, July 2 | 7 p.m.
David Engdahl, Jeff Whipple, and Mary Joan Hinson

Sat, July 5 | 1 p.m.
Sarah Crooks, Gail Beveridge, and Jason John

Wed, August 6 | 7 p.m.
Zakriya Rabani, Stephen Heywood, and J. Adam McGalliard

Wed, September 3 | 7 p.m.
Lance Vickery, Robert Adams, Jenny Hager, and Erin Kendrick

Wed, October 1 | 7 p.m.
Susanne Schuenke Ph.D., Hillary Hogue, Tanner Pletzke, and Chip Southworth

Wed, November 5 | 7 p.m.
Yna Cruz, Laura Colomb, Holly Blanton, and Joshua Cooper

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING:

Art of the Figure with William McMahan

1st & 3rd Saturdays: Jul 5 & 19 and Aug 2 7 16

Members $20 | Non-Members $30

18+

Kids Art Lab

2nd Saturdays: Jul 12 and Aug 9

Members $5 | Non-Members $10

Ages 6-12

Studio Practice

2nd Saturdays: Jul 12 and Aug 9

Members $10, Non-Members $20

Jul 12 – Modern Kintsugi with Elena Øhlander – sold out

Aug 9 – Layered Abstraction with Lilly Kuonen 

Artful Movement with Yoga 4 Change
3rd Sundays:  Jul 20 and Aug 17 
Members $5 | Non-Members $10 

Seize the Clay Ceramic Workshop
2nd & 4th Saturdays: Jul 12 & 26 and Aug 9 & 23 

Members $20 | Non-Members $30 

Ceramics Open Studio at MOCA

2nd & 4th Saturdays: Jul 12 & 26 and Aug 9 & 23 

Members & Non-Members $20 

Self-guided

View MOCA’s full schedule of programs and details online:

https://www.eventbrite.com/o/moca-jacksonville-2715586970

EXHIBITIONS:

PROJECT ATRIUM

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer Spectral Subjects

Presented by Joan and Preston Haskell

Through September 14, 2025

Spectral Subjects is a new interactive artwork commissioned for MOCA Jacksonville. The piece is a thermal observatory—a constantly updating map of the room’s temperature, projected in the round. Using state of the art thermographic cameras, the project detects and displays heat and cold in the environment, including the building’s ventilation, visitors’ body heat, and inanimate objects. As with previous biometric art projects by Lozano-Hemmer, the piece is a call to think of the human body as a continuum with the environment around us.

FIRST FLOOR LOBBY

Honoring Rauschenberg

June 26–September 7, 2025

MOCA commemorates another giant of our time for his 100th birthday, Robert Rauschenberg, celebrating his expansive creativity, spirit of curiosity, and commitment to change. His artistic practice revolved around integrating “the real world” and incorporating found objects into his art.

SECOND FLOOR GALLERY

The Armory South: The 1924 Jacksonville Woman’s Club Exhibition Rediscovered

Through November 23, 2025

This exhibition reassembles core works from a forgotten but seminal Modernist exhibition mounted in March 1924 by the Woman’s Club of Jacksonville and the newly founded Jacksonville Fine Arts Society (now MOCA). The Armory South tells related stories of essential importance to the introduction of Modernism to the American South, the history of women in Modern art, and the ideas and relationships shaping American art in the mid-1920s.

UNF GALLERY

All Hands on Deck: 15 Years of Collection at Small Craft Advisory Press

Through August 29, 2025

All Hands On Deck presents artist books created by Small Craft Advisory Press (SCAP) at Florida State University. Founded by Professor of Art Denise Bookwalter, SCAP brings together artists, writers, designers, and scholars to work collaboratively on projects that challenge the conventions of what books are and do.

THIRD FLOOR GALLERIES

Jax Contemporary:MOCA Jacksonville Arts Triennial

Presented by Dolf and Anna James

Through November 9, 2025

Jax Contemporary brings the artistic talent of the Greater Jacksonville and Northeast Florida region to the fore. Covering all media, this new triennial exhibition celebrates the broad vitality of artistic voices representing this moment in Jacksonville’s history. MOCA received nearly 500 applications and has selected 64 artists working in a variety of media.

FIFTH FLOOR GALLERY

Dustin Sims: Nature Re:Wired

Through August 3, 2025

MOCA’s Fall 2024 UNF Student Artist-in-Residence exhibition features the work of recent graduate, retired military veteran, and sculptor Dustin Sims. In Nature Re:Wired, Sims reimagines discarded technology, transforming it into captivating animal sculptures that celebrate the brilliance of nature’s design.

ABOUT MOCA JACKSONVILLE

Located in the heart of historic Downtown Jacksonville, the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville is one of the city’s most significant cultural assets. MOCA is the oldest art museum in Northeast Florida and one of the first contemporary art museums to be established in the United States. In 2009, MOCA became a cultural institute of the University of North Florida and in 2025 the museum became one of only three percent of museums to achieve accreditation through the American Alliance of Museums, the highest national recognition afforded to American museums.

The museum serves the community and its visitors through exhibitions, collections, educational programs, and publications designed to enhance an understanding and appreciation of contemporary art with particular emphasis on works created from 1960 to the present.  

Located in the heart of historic Downtown Jacksonville, MOCA is one of the city’s most significant cultural assets. Among the most prominent contemporary art museums in the Southeast, MOCA’s exhibitions and programs set the pace for arts and art-integrated programming on a regional and national stage. Renowned in this community, MOCA casts the spotlight on Jacksonville as a burgeoning, vital arts destination. 

For more information including hours of operation, admission prices and upcoming exhibitions and programs, call 904.366.6911 or visit mocajacksonville.unf.edu.

###