The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Jacksonville, a cultural institute of the University of North Florida, has announced its fall season of programs and exhibitions. This is a partial list. For further information, go to mocajacksonville.unf.edu.
Fall Arts Celebration
Noon Oct. 18
Meet the Project Atrium: Muralists in Action artists, celebrate the announcement of the Jax Contemporary Arts Triennial Awards, and view “Sebastian Vallejo: Where The Wild Zephyrs Sleep” with the artist. This brunch-style opening will feature live music, light bites and a cash bar.
Project Atrium: “Rafael Lozano-Hemmer Spectral Subjects”
Presented by Joan and Preston Haskell
“Spectral Subjects” 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 piece is a call to think of the human body as a continuum with the environment around us. Through Sept. 14
Honoring Rauschenberg
MOCA commemorates American artist Robert Rauschenberg for his 100th birthday, 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. Through Sept. 7
Jax Contemporary: MOCA Jacksonville Arts Triennial
Presented by Dolf and Anna James
Jax Contemporary brings the artistic talent of Northeast Florida to the fore by celebrating the broad vitality of creative voices through the works of 64 artists working in a variety of media. Through Nov. 9
“The Armory South: The 1924 Jacksonville Woman’s Club Exhibition Rediscovered”
This exhibition reassembles core works from a seminal 1924 Modernist exhibition mounted by the Woman’s Club of Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Fine Arts Society (now MOCA). The Armory South contributes to the stories of 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 1920s. Through Nov. 23
“Sebastian Vallejo: Where The Wild Zephyrs Sleep”
The internationally recognized artist is known for his dynamic and evocative artwork reflecting his Puerto Rican heritage, celebrating bold color and symbolic imagery, and addressing the nuanced dialogue regarding Puerto Rico’s status as a U.S. Commonwealth nation. Sept. 6 to Feb. 22, 2026
Art with a Heart in Healthcare: “The Art of Music”
Art with a Heart in Healthcare provides art experiences to support the healing process for patients and families at local hospitals. “The Art of Music” features guitars transformed by patients from Wolfson’s Children’s Hospital into visual interpretations of their favorite songs. Sept. 14 to Jan. 11, 2026
Project Atrium: “Muralists in Action”
Conceived as an exhibition accompanying Jax Contemporary, “Muralists in Action” showcases the vibrant muralist scene of Jacksonville. Led by veteran artists Shaun Thurston and Dustin Harewood, authors and collaborators of many murals around town, a group of apprentices and students will transform the Atrium Gallery into an engaging mural. During the run of the exhibition, observe how the work progresses, culminating in a final work of art. Sept. 22 to Feb. 15, 2026
“Whitney Oldenburg: left behind”
Whitney Oldenburg’s work explores the boundary between subject and object, unraveling the reciprocal relationship between humans and materials. She is interested in how we form attachments to material things — not only to their functions, but the way they alleviate, fit in or make sense of our lives —and how objects, in turn, become symbolic. Nov. 20 to April 19, 2026
Photography in the MOCA Collection
Tracing a historical arc, this exhibition explores groundbreaking contributions to photography by artists in the early 20th century such as Imogene Cunningham and Edward Weston, as well as other defining decades in the history of the medium through to our time when digital formats and computer enhanced images have become the norm. Dec. 6 to July 5, 2026
