Julia Cseko

Lives and works in Somerville, MA

Artist statement

Julia Csekö is a visual artist whose practice bridges art, activism, and community engagement. Born in Colorado to Brazilian parents in self-exile during Brazil’s military dictatorship, Csekö was raised in Rio de Janeiro. An interdisciplinary artist, educator, and cultural advocate, she has received numerous prestigious awards and residencies, including the NAS Creative Community Fellowship, Our Energy Future Grant, ALAANA Creative County Grant, the SMFA Traveling Fellowship, the Collective Futures Grant, the Be The Change Award, and multiple Local Cultural Council grants. In 2026, Csekö will join the inaugural Mosesian Center for the Arts Artist-in-Residence cohort; in 2025, she returned to the Studios at MassMoCA as an Alumni Artist-in-Residence. She recently completed a three-year Artist Residency at the Boston Center for the Arts and an eight-month Salem Public Artist Residency, and has been invited to notable programs including Sculpture Space and MASSCreative’s Create the Vote Fellowship. Csekö’s work includes public art commissions and is held in prominent collections such as the Tufts University Permanent Collection, Emerson College, the Museum of Modern Art in Rio (MAM Rio), the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, Centro Cultural São Paulo, and private collections worldwide. Her passion for arts advocacy began during her BFA studies at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), where she played a pivotal role in securing an increase in Brazil’s national...

Artwork