JERSEY CITY, NJ.- Join Jersey City Museum as artists Miguel Luciano and Manuel Acevedo discuss selections from their bodies of work. Both artists’ aesthetic practices have been informed as much by hip-hop, graffiti, and bling as by their shared Puerto Rican heritage and commitment to producing community-based projects. Mr. Luciano and Mr. Acevedo share similar concerns, yet each approaches their artistic practice differently.

GET YOUR ART ON: CONVERSATIONS IN CONTEMPORARY ART is Jersey City Museum’s new speaker series that features diverse contemporary American voices of both established and emerging artists, some of who are represented in the collection of Jersey City Museum. This forum allows artists to discuss their careers and explores the various issues and forces that have shaped the art of our times. The series is designed for artists, students, and art enthusiasts of all levels and ages. School and community groups are welcome.


This event is free with museum admission ($4) and free for museum members and students with I.D. No reservations are required. Groups interested in attending should contact Brendan Carroll, Program Coordinator, by phone at 201-413-0303 ext. 117 or by e-mail at bcarroll@jerseycitymuseum.org.

About the artists: Manuel Acevedo is an artist of Puerto Rican descent born in Newark, New Jersey. His multi-media artworks have been exhibited at various national and international institutions, including PS1 Contemporary Art Center, The Studio Museum in Harlem, and Westfaelischer Kunstverein in Muenster, Germany. Solo shows of Acevedo’s work have been presented by the Jersey City Museum and the Los Angeles Center for Photographic Studies and he was an Artist-in-Residence at the Studio Museum in Harlem, 1998-99, recipient of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts in Miami, Residency Fellowship 1989-91 and Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, Artist as Catalyst Award, 1997.

Miguel Luciano is a visual artist and sculptor born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He received his BFA from the New World School of the Arts, in Miami, FL and his MFA from the University of Florida at Gainesville, FL. His internationally exhibited works explore the complex relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States. He has received a NYFA award for painting and two Artists and Communities Grants from the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation (MAAF). His work is featured in the permanent collections of El Museo del Barrio, NY and the Newark Museum, NJ.

GET YOUR ART ON: COVERSATIONS IN CONTEMPORARY ART is made possible by the Joan Mitchell Foundation. Founded in 1901, the Jersey City Museum is the major presenter of contemporary art serving the people of Jersey City, Hudson County and the region. The museum organizes many group and solo exhibitions every year, featuring works by culturally diverse, contemporary artists and from its 10,000-piece collection of regional significant art and historical objects. Through exhibitions, educational initiatives and programs, the museum welcomes over 25,000 visitors each year, including 11,000 school-aged children and youth.