Mary Jane Jacob is an American curator, writer, and educator from Chicago, Illinois.
[1] 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, 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.
[3] Jacob has an approach to curation that focuses heavily on site, history, social context, and audience relationships.
In 1991 and again in 2000–2008 Jacob was the curator of visual arts projects for Spoleto Festival USA[5] in Charleston South Carolina.