Mariela Acuña is an art administrator and curator from San José, Costa Rica currently based in Chicago. As Exhibitions and Residency Manager at Hyde Park Art Center, her primary role is to steward the Jackman Goldwasser Residency which invites local, national, and international artists and curators to hone their practice, develop research, and expand their networks in the context of a community-focused contemporary art center. At the Art Center, Mariela also curates exhibitions, manages the micro-publishing platform Green Lantern Press, and with a small team manages the innovative regranting initiative Artists Run Chicago Fund which has distributed over one million dollars in unrestricted grants among artist-run platforms in the city since 2020. 

Mariela is a board member at Comfort Station, a micro-cultural center that activates a historical building in Logan Square with free programs at the intersection of art and life. Mariela has held positions at the Norton Museum of Art, the University Galleries at Florida Atlantic University, and Girls’ Club Collection, Fort Lauderdale. She holds a BA in Art History and a BFA in Sculpture from Florida Atlantic University and a dual MA in Art Administration and Public Policy and Art History, Theory, and Criticism from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Photo by Tran Tran