Mariela Acuña is an art administrator and curator from San José, Costa Rica currently based in Chicago. 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. Together with a small team, Mariela 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