Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, Contemporary art museum in Downtown Jacksonville, United States.
The Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville occupies the former Western Union Telegraph Building on James Weldon Johnson Park, a six-floor, 60,000-square-foot structure built by The Auchter Company. Its facade was restored to its original Art Deco style, and the interior was fully refurbished to hold galleries, educational facilities, a theater, a museum shop and Café Nola. The renovation was completed in 2003.
The institution was founded in 1924 as the Jacksonville Fine Arts Society and spent decades presenting a broad range of art forms across the city. In 1999, it moved into the former Western Union Telegraph Building downtown and shifted its focus entirely to contemporary art.
The museum occupies the former Western Union Telegraph Building, constructed by The Auchter Company, on what is now James Weldon Johnson Park. Its name changed from Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art to Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville in November 2006. The third floor hosts exhibitions that rotate about every four months.
The museum sits in Downtown Jacksonville and is easy to reach on foot from the riverfront and the surrounding city center. All gallery floors are accessible, and the layout is straightforward enough that visitors rarely need to consult a map.
The museum is formally affiliated with the University of North Florida, which means academic research and university programs directly shape how exhibitions are conceived and presented. This kind of university partnership is uncommon for a city art museum of this size.
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