Mariela Acuña

Mariela Acuña is an art administrator and curator. As Director of Exhibitions and Residency at Hyde Park Art Center, she oversees the Art Center's exhibitions program, the Jackman Goldwasser Residency, and the micro-publishing platform Green Lantern Press. Through her administrative and curatorial practices, Acuña champions the work of social practice and underrepresented artists in Chicago and supports transnational connections for artists and curators. Acuña’s recent curatorial projects include William Estrada: Multiples and Multitudes (2023), Jonathan Castillo: Immigrant Owned (2023), Positions: New Landscapes (2024-5), and Farah Salem: Uninhibited People of the Earth (2025).

Acuña has held positions at the Norton Museum of Art, the University Galleries at Florida Atlantic University, and Girls’ Club Collection, Fort Lauderdale. Mariela holds a BA in Art History, 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. She serves as Board President of Comfort Station, an artist-run micro-cultural center that activates a historic building with free programs at the intersection of art and life.