The Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, also known as MOCA Jacksonville, is a contemporary art museum in Jacksonville, Florida, funded and operated as a "cultural resource" of the University of North Florida. One of the largest contemporary art institutions in the Southeastern United States, it presents exhibitions by international, national and regional artists.
MOCA Jacksonville was founded in 1924 as the Jacksonville Fine Arts Society, the first organization in the Jacksonville community devoted to the visual arts. In 1948 the Museum was incorporated as the Jacksonville Art Museum, and in 1978 it became the first institution in Jacksonville to be accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
In late 1999 the Museum acquired its permanent home, the historic Western Union Telegraph Building on Hemming Plaza, adjacent to the newly renovated City Hall, and became the Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art (JMOMA). In 2000, a series of preview exhibitions opened in a temporary exhibition space while the building facade was restored to its original Art Deco style. The interior was completely refurbished to house the Museum’s galleries, educational facilities, a theater/auditorium, Museum Shop and Café Nola. Total renovation of the 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m2), six-floor facility was completed in 2003, culminating in a grand re-opening in May of that year.
After moving to its downtown location the Museum experienced rapid growth in both membership and the size of the permanent collection. The many substantial additions to the collection increased not only its quality, but also its size to almost 800 pieces. After completing a recent review of the current scope of the Museum’s collection and exhibitions, discussions were held regarding the distinctions between modern and contemporary art, as well as the Museum’s mission and vision for the future. It was decided that in order for the Museum to convey a strong sense of identity and purpose to both the community and other art institutions across the country, its name should change. Therefore, in November 2006, JMOMA became the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville.
The Museum continues to be a cornerstone of Jacksonville’s multibillion-dollar downtown revitalization plan. Its exhibitions and programming bring new visitors to the civic core during the day, at night and on weekends. Educational programming includes children’s literacy initiatives and weekend art making classes as well as regular tours, lectures, films and publications for children and adults.
MOCA Jacksonville is an inviting environment in which to learn about the art of our time. Stroll through the permanent collection galleries and view the works of Hans Hofmann, Joan Mitchell, James Rosenquist, Ed Paschke, and other contemporary masters. MOCA Jacksonville’s changing exhibitions feature the works of many contemporary artists working in a wide assortment of media from painting, sculpture, and video. The third floor hosts exhibitions, which rotate approximately every four months, designed to provide insightful, stimulating and educational experiences.
The University of North Florida acquired the museum in 2009 to act as a cultural resource of the university.
Hans Hofmann: Works on Paper (January 28-May 14)
Project Atrium: Nicola López
Synthesize
Project Atrium: Lauren Fensterstock
Art with a Heart in Healthcare
Project Atrium: Heather Cox
Kept Time: Photographs by Joseph D. Jachna
Inside/Out: MOCA's Permanent Collection
Project Atrium: Sarah Emerson
Michael Aurbach
SLOW: Marking Time in Photography and Film
UNF Student Juried Exhibition
First Coast Portfolio
Project Atrium: Ian Bogost
ReFocus: Art of the 1980s
Project Atrium: Tristin Lowe
Annual UNF Art & Design Faculty Exhibition
In This Moment: Art with a Heart in Healthcare Exhibition
Rendering Italy: UNF Art and Design Faculty Abroad
ReFocus: Art of the 1970s
Project Atrium: Mark Licari
The Joys of Collecting: Selections from the Eisen Collection
Rainbow Artists: Art and Autism Across the Spectrum Exhibition
Carrie Ann Baade: Solar Midnight
Joe Forkan: The Lebowski Cycle
North East Florida Scholastic Art Award
ReFocus: Art of the 1960s
Tamara Culbert: 2011 Memphis Wood Excellence in Teaching Award
Project Atrium: Gustavo Godoy
UNF Art and Design Faculty Exhibition
Larry Clark: The Tulsa Series
Shared Vision: The Sondra Gilman and Celso Gonzalez-Falla Collection of Photography
No Place in Particular: Images of the American Landscape
Project Atrium: Melanie Pullen
What a Doll: The Human Object as Toy
Stranger in Paradise: The Works of Reverend Howard Finster
What A Doll: The Human Object As Toy
Rainbow Artists: Art and Autism Across the Spectrum Exhibition
FUSION: Ceramic Exhibition by the FIRM: Shane Christensen, Brian Jensen, Stephen Heywood, and Michael Schmidt
Wind Weaver and the Whirling Wheel: A Tale of Wolfbat Romance
The Art of Seating: 200 Years of American Design
Chair Installation by Dolf James
Edge of Your Seat: Design Challenge, a juried student show in conjunction with The Art of Seating
East/West: Visually Speaking
UNF Art and Design Faculty Exhibition
Imagination Squared: A Community Response Project
Hyperbolic Nature: Plein Air Paintings by Lilian Garcia-Roig
Tradition Redefined: The Larry and Brenda Thompson Collection of African American Art
Marilyn Monroe: Life as a Legend
Looking Forward, Looking Back: Celebrating the Contributions and Careers of Artist/Educators Larry Davis, Mark Howard & Paul Ladnier
Dan Estabrook: Forever and Never
Separate Strategies & Common Goals
Hamish MacEwan: 90 in 09
Robert Motherwell: Lost in Form, Found in Line
The Art of Teaching: UNF Faculty Exhibition
Emergence: Works by UNF Sculpture Students
Balance and Power: Performance and Surveillance in Video Art
Jazz Giants: The Photography of Herman Leonard
Why Look at Animals? Photography from the George Eastman Collection
Ultra-Realistic Sculpture by Marc Sijan
Making Marks: Jacksonville Creates
The Shape Of Things: Selections From The Permanent Collection
And Further the Dew Drop Falls: Installations by Chris Natrop
Civitates Orbis Terrarum: Recent Drawings by John Bailly
Carly, So Far: Photographs by Francie Bishop Good
Memphis Wood: Jacksonville's First Lady of the Arts
Contemporary Visions: A Focus on Jacksonville Collections
Ramen Noodles 2008: Installation by Sang-Wook Lee
Continental Shifts: The Art of Edouard Duval-Carrié
Essence and Materials: Works by Minoru Ohira
Sculptures by Duncan Johnson
Raddle Cross & Dowsing: Installations by Martha Whittington
Coherent Structures: Recent Silverpoint Paintings by Carol Prusa
Valuistics: The Making Of: An Installation by James Greene
Contemporary Currents: Selections from the Bank of America Collection
Impermanence: Recent Works by Andrés Michelena
Keyhole: Constructed Paintings by Todd Murphy
Second Skins: Sculptural Soundsuits and Tondos by Nick Cave
Anderson and Low: Athlete/Warrior
Green Grass/Black Wings: Paintings by Ian Chase
Time Capsules: Illuminated Works by Jon Davis
Bloom: Paintings and Constructions by Luis Cruz Azaceta
Pilgrimages: Large-Scale Drawings by Clive King
Nature of Elegy: Works by Timothy McDowell
Flow: Paintings & Installations by Radcliffe Bailey
Illuminating Space: New Works by Zac Freeman
Artifacts: Photographs by David Halliday
Cheerleaders, Bodybuilders and Disco Queens: Photographs by Brian Finke & Morten Nilsson
Sheltering Eye: Selections from the Prentice and Paul Sack Photography Collection
That's Another Story: Works by Ke Francis
30th Parallel: A Convergence of Contemporary Painting featuring Radcliffe Bailey, John Bailly, Jim Barsness, Luisa Basnuevo, Mark Messersmith, Rocio Rodriguez, Lynne Ridings, Barry Sparkman
Transitions: Sculptures and Prints by Joe Segal
Activating Space: Sculpture as Environment featuring Tim Curtis, David Geiser, George Long, Jeffery Loy & Joe Martin, Michael Murrell, Jimmy O'Neal
Tonya Lee: New Works
Shared Vision: Photographs of Baracoa, Cuba – A Collaborative Documentary
Mark Sain Wilson: Photographs
Image & Energy: Selections from the Haskell Collection
Pam Longobardi: World within Worlds
Push Play: Redefining Pop featuring Ray Azcuy, Didi Dunphy, David Isenhour, J. Ivcevich, Federico Uribe
Arnold Mesches: A Painting History 1940-2003
Fruition: New Works by Sarah Crooks Flaire
David Crown: Mezzotints
Subject/Object: Photographs by Jay Shoots
Intuition & Response: Masterworks from the Edward R. Broida Collection
Jonathan Lux: New Paintings
High Tide: Works by Joe Walters
Woody Cornwell: New Paintings
Skin: Contemporary Views of the Body featuring Magdalena Abakanowicz, Sebastian Blanck, Connie Imboden, Pam Longobardi, Rona Pondick, Terry Rodgers
The Consuming Image: New Painterly Pop featuring Alisa Henriquez, Ales Bask Hostomsky, James Mahoney, Chris Peldo, Michael Thrush, David Williams
Alt.Photo: Redefining Process featuring Linda Broadfoot, Thomas Hager, Paul Karabinis, Dominick Martorelli
Contemporary Regional Sculptors featuring Nofa Dixon, Bob Kirk, Jan Tomlinson Master, David Royal Olson
Neobotanica: Flora by Four Contemporary Artists featuring David Collins, David Geiser, Timothy McDowell, Barbara Rogers
American Beauty: Sculptures by Jack Dowd
Towards the Organic: Material and Metaphor featuring Karen Rich Beall, Tim Curtis, Celeste Roberge
Image Electric: The Work of Richard Heipp
