JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Art and culture are now more accessible than ever. MOCA Jacksonville is pleased to announce two more free access days each month sponsored by Florida Blue, one of the museum’s new Centennial Sponsors. Florida Blue Free Museum Nights at MOCA offer extended hours and free admission on the first and third Wednesday of every month from 5 to 9 p.m. Visitors can explore the galleries, interact with visiting artists, enjoy drink specials at the MOCA Bar, and participate in special programming that is also free to access, like movies, lectures, and performances.
“Community members experience a number of real and perceived barriers to access that prevent them from visiting museums and other cultural institutions, including the cost of attendance, hours of accessibility, transportation and parking, feeling welcome in spaces that have historically been exclusionary, and so many other barriers” states Caitlín Doherty, Executive Director of MOCA Jacksonville. “While we do not have the power to solve every barrier to access, we are proud of the work we have done in recent years to expand accessibility to our community and those visiting Jacksonville. From staying open later to free admission opportunities to virtual programming to proactively providing ASL interpretation at our lectures and exhibition openings, MOCA’s team is committed to making the art, artists, and ideas of our time accessible to as many in our community as we can. Support from partners like Florida Blue who are committed to making our community one where people want to live, work, play, and stay make these initiatives possible.”
“Florida Blue is proud to support MOCA Jacksonville and its goal of making arts and culture more accessible to the Jacksonville community,” said Courtney Harris, Chief of Staff to the Office of the CEO and Jacksonville Market Leader. “We recognize the importance of the arts to our community’s well-being. Research has shown the arts can benefit both our mental and physical health and this partnership reflects our company’s mission to help people and communities achieve better health.”
ABOUT FLORIDA BLUE
Florida Blue, the leading health insurer in Florida, has been providing health solutions to residents of Florida for nearly 80 years. Driven by its mission of helping people and communities achieve better health, the company serves more than five million members and all 67 Florida counties. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., with nearly 8,900 employees, it is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.
For additional information visit www.FloridaBlue.com. For the latest news and content, visit the Florida Blue Newsroom, and follow Florida Blue on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram @Florida.Blue; and X (formerly Twitter) @FLBlue.
MOCA JACKSONVILLE
The Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2024, as the oldest art museum in the region and one of the first art museums to be established in the state of Florida. 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, pioneering women 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.
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