'''Mary Jane Jacob''' is an American curator, writer, and educator from [[Chicago|Chicago, Illinois]]. She is a professor at the [[School of the Art Institute of Chicago]], and is the former Executive Director of Exhibitions and Exhibition Studies. She has held posts as Chief Curator at the [[Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles]] and at the [[Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Beaird |first=Rowan |date=2022 |title=The Curatorial Threads of Professor Mary Jane Jacob |url=https://www.saic.edu/news/the-curatorial-threads-of-professor-mary-jane-jacob |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250330224602/https://www.saic.edu/news/the-curatorial-threads-of-professor-mary-jane-jacob |archive-date=30 March 2025 |access-date=7 May 2025 |website=[[School of the Art Institute of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref>

Since 1990 Jacob has been a pioneer in the areas of public, site-specific, and socially engaged art. Jacob is the author and editor of many key texts including ''Conversations at the Castle: Changing Audiences and Contemporary Art'' (1996)<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |title=Conversations at the Castle: Changing Audiences and Contemporary Art |publisher=[[MIT Press]] |year=1998 |isbn=9780262100724 |editor-last=Jacob |editor-first=Mary Jane |location=Cambridge, Mass. |language=en |oclc=38216516 |editor-last2=Brenson |editor-first2=Michael |editor-link2=Michael Brenson}}</ref> and ''Culture in Action: New Public Art in Chicago'' (1993).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Olson |first=Eva M. |url=https://halfletterpress.com/culture-in-action-pdf/ |title=Culture in Action: New Public Art in Chicago |last2=Brenson |first2=Michael |author-link2=Michael Brenson |last3=Jacob |first3=Mary Jane |publisher=Half Letter Press |year=1993 |language=en |type=Sale page for digital reproduction of print publication by Bay Press from 1995 |access-date=25 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250215071326/https://halfletterpress.com/culture-in-action-pdf/ |archive-date=15 February 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Jacob has mounted exhibitions, and created public art opportunities that have featured the work of some of the most influential artists in contemporary art including [[Mark Dion (artist)|Mark Dion]], [[Suzanne Lacy]], [[Ernesto Pujol]], [[J. Morgan Puett]], Pablo Helguera, [[Marina Abramović]], and [[Alfredo Jaar]]. The [[Women's Caucus for Art]] honored Jacob as a 2010 recipient of the organization's Lifetime Achievement Award.<ref>{{cite web |title=Past Conferences: From the Center: Chicago, February 10–15, 2010 |url=https://nationalwca.org/pastconferences/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250508-033935/https://nationalwca.org/pastconferences/ |archive-date=8 May 2025 |accessdate=12 March 2014 |website=[[Women's Caucus for Art]] |quote=The 2010 Lifetime Awards Recipients were Tritobia Hayes Benjamin, Mary Jane Jacob, Senga Nengudi, Joyce J. Scott, and Spiderwomen Theater.}}</ref>

Jacob received her M.A. in the History of Art and Museum Studies from the [[University of Michigan, Ann Arbor]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=2021 |orig-date=2016 |title=Guide to the Mary Jane Jacob Papers MSS.003 |url=http://www.bard.edu/ccs/findingaids/index.html/mss.003/mjjp.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001030040/https://www.bard.edu/ccs/findingaids/index.html/mss.003/mjjp.html |archive-date=1 October 2023 |access-date=25 February 2020 |website=[[Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College]] |type=Find aid}}</ref>

==Curatorial approach== Jacob has an approach to curation that focuses heavily on site, history, social context, and audience relationships.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Picard |first=Caroline |date=28 February 2012 |title=The Energetic Persistence of Water: An Interview with Mary Jane Jacob |url=https://magazine.art21.org/2012/02/28/the-energetic-persistence-of-water-an-interview-with-mary-jane-jacob/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250119001438/https://magazine.art21.org/2012/02/28/the-energetic-persistence-of-water-an-interview-with-mary-jane-jacob/ |archive-date=19 January 2025 |access-date=14 May 2025 |work=[[Art:21]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wallach |first=Amei |author-link=Amei Wallach |date=2008 |title=A Conversation with Ann Hamilton in Ohio |url= |journal=[[American Art (journal)|American Art]] |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=67–68 |doi=10.1086/587916 |issn=1073-9300 |jstor=10.1086/587916}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> These approaches are most evident in her influential project ''[[Culture in Action]]: Public Art in Chicago''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Platt |first=Susan |date=Fall 1996 |title=Culture and power |journal=[[Art Journal (College Art Association journal)|Art Journal]] |volume=55 |issue=3 |pages=96 |doi=10.2307/777774 |jstor=777774 |id={{ProQuest|223303518}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Jacob |first=Mary Jane |url=https://archive.org/details/cultureinactionp0000unse/mode/2up |title=Culture in Action: A Public Art Program of Sculpture Chicago |last2=Brenson |first2=Michael |author-link2=Michael Brenson |last3=Olson |first3=Eva M. |publisher=Bay Press |year=1995 |isbn=9780941920315 |location=Seattle, WA |language=en |oclc=31941966 |access-date=12 May 2025 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

==Exhibitions and projects== In 1991<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cooke |first=Lynne |author-link=Lynne Cooke |date=1991 |title='Places with a Past'. Charleston, South Carolina |url= |journal=[[The Burlington Magazine]] |volume=133 |issue=1061 |pages=573 |issn=0007-6287 |jstor=884918}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cooke |first=Lynne |author-link=Lynne Cooke |date=1993 |title=Outdoor Exhibitions of Contemporary Art. Arnhem and Chicago |url= |journal=[[The Burlington Magazine]] |volume=135 |issue=1088 |pages=786–787 |issn=0007-6287 |jstor=885845}}</ref> and again in 2000&ndash;2008 Jacob was the curator of visual arts projects for Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Jeffers |first=Carol S. |date=2003 |title=Museum as Process |url= |journal=Journal of Aesthetic Education |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=107–119 |doi=10.2307/3527425 |issn=0021-8510 |jstor=3527425}}</ref> This was the site of ''Places With a Past'' (1991)<ref name=":0" /> and ''Places With a Future'' (2005).<ref name=":4" /><ref name="yumpucv">{{cite web |date=27 November 2012 |title=Mary Jane Jacob CV |url=http://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/4445870/jacob-mj-select-cv-mary-jane-jacob |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223184144/https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/4445870/jacob-mj-select-cv-mary-jane-jacob |archive-date=23 February 2014 |accessdate=3 February 2014 |publisher=Mary Jane Jacob |via=[[Yumpu]]}}</ref>

In 1996 Jacob was the curator of ''Conversations at the Castle: Changing Audiences and Contemporary Art''<ref name=":2" /> as part of the Arts Festival of Atlanta for the 1996 Olympics.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fox |first=Catherine |date=1 April 1996 |title=Olympics fans can also enjoy summer fest |work=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]] |pages=6 |id={{ProQuest|260376556}}}}</ref>

In September 2014, she opened an exhibition, ''A Proximity of Consciousness: Art and Social Action'', which also connected to the symposium, ''A Lived Practice'', held at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and was co-curated with Kate Zeller.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bass |first=Chloë |author-link=Chloë Bass |date=19 November 2014 |title=Between Theory and Action in Social Practice Art |url=https://hyperallergic.com/163467/between-theory-and-action-in-social-practice-art/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240830170238/https://hyperallergic.com/163467/between-theory-and-action-in-social-practice-art/ |archive-date=30 August 2024 |access-date=12 May 2025 |work=[[Hyperallergic]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=16 May 2014 |title=Announcements: A Lived Practice |url=https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/107560/a-lived-practice/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240620160702/https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/107560/a-lived-practice/ |archive-date=20 June 2024 |access-date=12 May 2025 |publisher=[[School of the Art Institute of Chicago]] |via=[[e-flux]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Gagnon |first=Rachel |date=17 September 2014 |title=Planning Social Practice: An Interview with Mary Jane Jacob |url=https://magazine.art21.org/2014/09/17/planning-social-practice-an-interview-with-mary-jane-jacob/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112134808/https://magazine.art21.org/2014/09/17/planning-social-practice-an-interview-with-mary-jane-jacob/ |archive-date=12 November 2024 |access-date=12 May 2025 |work=[[Art:21]]}}</ref> Jacob and Zeller also co-edited the ''Chicago Social Practice History Series'', a four-volume set distributed by the University of Chicago Press that came out of the show.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Besemer |first=Jay |date=Summer 2015 |title=Chicago Social Practice History Series |url=https://raintaxi.com/chicago-social-practice-history-series/ |url-status=live |journal=[[Rain Taxi]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240423103842/https://raintaxi.com/chicago-social-practice-history-series/ |archive-date=23 April 2024 |access-date=14 May 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014 |title=Grantees - Chicago Social Practice History Series |url=http://www.grahamfoundation.org/grantees/5209-chicago-social-practice-history-series |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250101230033/http://www.grahamfoundation.org/grantees/5209-chicago-social-practice-history-series |archive-date=1 January 2025 |access-date=14 May 2025 |website=[[Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014 |title=Chicago Social Practice - Publication: Chicago Social Practice History Series |url=https://www.saic.edu/news/chicago-social-practice |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250329071944/https://www.saic.edu/news/chicago-social-practice |archive-date=29 March 2025 |access-date=14 May 2025 |website=[[School of the Art Institute of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref> In addition to editing the series, Jacob and Zeller also edited one of the volumes in the series, ''A Lived Practice'', along with Terry Ann R. Neff.<ref>{{Cite book |title=A Lived Practice |publisher=[[School of the Art Institute of Chicago]] |year=2015 |isbn=9780982879887 |editor-last=Neff |editor-first=Terry Ann R. |series=Chicago Social Practice History Series |language=en |oclc=907206150 |editor-last2=Jacob |editor-first2=Mary Jane |editor-last3=Zeller |editor-first3=Kate}}</ref>

== Books and publications == Jacob has written and edited over three dozen books and exhibition publications. Her most recent books include ''Dewey for Artists'' (University of Chicago Press, 2018),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jacob |first=Mary Jane |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dewey_for_Artists/3wl0DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Dewey+for+artists%22&pg=PA144&printsec=frontcover |title=Dewey for Artists |publisher=[[The University of Chicago Press]] |year=2018 |isbn=9780226580449 |language=en |oclc=1028603046 |access-date=14 May 2025 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> ''The Studio Reader: On the Space of Artists'' (University of Chicago Press, 2010),<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Alsdorf |first=Bridget |date=June 2013 |title=The Studio Reader: On the Space of Artists |journal=Art Bulletin |publisher=[[College Art Association]] |volume=95 |issue=2 |pages=333–336 |issn=0004-3079 |via=MasterFILE Complete}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Studio_Reader/bEoPPQZWc7IC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=The+studio+reader+:+on+the+space+of+artists&printsec=frontcover |title=The Studio Reader: On the Space of Artists |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |year=2010 |isbn=9780226389592 |editor-last=Jacob |editor-first=Mary Jane |language=en |oclc=457149154 |access-date=14 May 2025 |editor-last2=Grabner |editor-first2=Michelle |editor-link2=Michelle Grabner |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> and ''Learning Mind: Experience into Art'' (University of California Press, 2010).<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Learning_Mind/PuEVEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Learning+Mind+:+Experience+into+Art&printsec=frontcover |title=Learning Mind: Experience into Art |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year=2010 |isbn=9780520944930 |editor-last=Jacob/Baas |language=en |doi=10.1525/9780520944930 |oclc=1408682062 |access-date=14 May 2025 |editor-last2=Baas |editor-first2=Jacquelynn |editor-link2=Jacquelynn Baas |editor-last3=Jacob |editor-first3=Mary Jane |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

== Teaching == Jacob is a professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Sculpture<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Faculty: Mary Jane Jacob, Professor |url=https://www.saic.edu/profiles/faculty/mary-jane-jacob |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241211154224/https://www.saic.edu/profiles/faculty/mary-jane-jacob |archive-date=11 December 2024 |access-date=14 May 2025 |website=[[School of the Art Institute of Chicago]] |language=en}}</ref> where she is the former Executive Director of Exhibitions and Exhibition Studies.<ref name=":3" />

==Museum affiliations== From 1976 to 1980, Jacob was the associate curator of modern art at the Detroit Art Institute.<ref name="yumpucv"/><ref name=":3" /> She served as the chief curator at the Museums of Contemporary Art in Chicago from 1980 to 1986.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Scanlan |first=Josephe |date=5 November 1993 |title=Culture in Action |url=https://www.frieze.com/article/culture-action |url-status=live |journal=[[Frieze (magazine)|Frieze]] |issue=13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241013162246/https://www.frieze.com/article/culture-action |archive-date=13 October 2024 |access-date=14 May 2025}}</ref> She served as the chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles from 1986 to 1989.<ref name=":1" /><ref name="yumpucv"/>

== References == {{reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.maryjanejacob.org/ Official website] *[http://creativetime.org/summit/speakers/mary-jane-jacob/ Mary Jane Jacob], The Creative Time Summit

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacob, Mary Jane}} [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:American art curators]] [[Category:American women curators]] [[Category:Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies alumni]] [[Category:Place of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:School of the Art Institute of Chicago faculty]] [[Category:American women academics]]