Colorful ribbons with welcome messages in multiple languages hanging on a display, with hands tying or adjusting some of the ribbons.

Colorful mural with words about love, angels, children, and change in bold white letters on colored background.

An art gallery with large windows, American flags, colorful clothing displays on mannequin forms, and banners on the walls.

A fabric with a pattern of alternating black, orange, white, green, yellow, and blue stripes, resembling a flag with the Brazilian flag featuring a blue circle with stars and a green and yellow background.

Three people dancing in colorful fringed costumes with a wooden bench and windows in the background.

A white hand touching a cracked and peeling beige wall with some paint chipping.

A banner with the text 'REMEMBER' decorated with American flag pattern, hanging under an overpass in a park area.

Four white ceramic or plaster sculpture hands with fingers pointed upwards, arranged in a desert landscape pattern on a wooden table in an art studio or workshop.

People lying on the floor around a man who appears to be hurt, holding a slice of pizza. Others are holding wine glasses and leaning toward the man. Some are taking photos or videos. The scene appears lively and dramatized.

Colorful ribbons hanging on a yellow frame in an outdoor walkway, part of an awareness installation titled 'Transcending Borders' with a sign encouraging storytelling and donations for immigrant communities.

Colorful rainbow flag with a love message hanging on a concrete wall, with shadows of an overhead metal structure and a brick building in the background daytime

A man lying on a vintage sofa, wearing a colorful, abstract plush covering made of pink, red, orange, and black shapes, surrounded by beige pillows, in front of large windows with wooden frames.

Close-up of a gray wall with white text featuring a narrative or story, with legible phrases like 'self-conformed,' 'the holly spr,' and 'made beautiful.'

Colorful banners hanging outside a building, with trees and a cloudy sky reflected on a glass window.

Large banner with the message "POST CHAPLAINS DREY" in colorful, rainbow-colored letters, featuring American flag patterns, displayed inside a spacious hall with wooden floors, arched windows, and chandeliers.

Group of people at a party, dressed in fancy and colorful clothing, engaging in a food tasting.

Close-up of a colorful mural with words related to social and political themes, including 'history of the United States,' 'indigenous land,' 'indigenous,' 'people,' 'democracy,' 'The Affirmation,' and others, painted in various colors and fonts.

Julia CSekö

Brazilian /American Interdisciplinary Artist focused on Collaboration, Community engagement, and ExXperimentation

A woman with short reddish-brown hair, glasses, and large green heart-shaped earrings wearing a light blue denim shirt, smiling, with a red, white, and black flag or banner in the background.

Photo by Thomas Logan

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Bio

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, Julia Csekö was raised in Rio de Janeiro. An interdisciplinary artist, educator, and cultural advocate, Csekö has received numerous prestigious awards and residencies, including the 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 2025, Csekö returned to Studios at MassMoCA as an Alumni AiR. Csekö recently completed a three-year Artist Residence at the Boston Center for the Arts and the eight-month-long Salem Public Artist Residence, and has been invited to several 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, and Centro Cultural São Paulo, as well as private collections worldwide.

Her passion for arts advocacy began during her BFA studies at the Federal University of Rio (UFRJ), where she played a pivotal role in securing an increase in Brazil’s national arts and culture funding from 0.3% to 1%. She also served on a cultural policy committee engaging with the Brazilian Ministry of Culture. Now based in North America, Csekö continues her advocacy work, championing arts funding, accessibility, and community engagement.

eXplore my work

Public Art

Gallery with multiple colorful text-based artworks on white walls, and track lighting, in an art gallery or museum space.

Painting & 2D

Courtyard of EAV Escola de Artes Visuais Parque LAge, in Rio, Brazil, with a swimming pool, historic architecture, colorful banners reading "COLLECTIVUM DELIRIUM," in Latin, lush green trees, and a mountain in the background.

TeXtiles & 3D

Three people dressed in colorful, Welcome Dresses made of mesh and tied ribbons, at the Salem Old Town Hall, MA, moving and smiling.

Wearable

Two people with spoons in their mouths, attempting to eat blackberries on forks during the Vanitas exhibition and performance at FPAC, Boston, MA 2024

Time Based

Annoucements

A Home for Our Future Generations

3D model of a small house with color-coded walls covered in small icons, a metal roof, and a wood porch.

I am honored to be collaborating with my fellow Brazilian artist, Raquel Fornasaro, on a public artwork responding to the theme of sustainability, supported by the Our Energy Future Grant.

Funded by the sponsors of Mass Save through a Community Education Grant, the City of Framingham and the Town of Natick have invited us to design and lead two complementary participatory public art projects, one in Framingham and one in Natick, centered on the theme Our Energy Future. This initiative highlights the vital role each of us plays in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in our homes and buildings. Through creative engagement, our project aims to amplify the importance of collective action and inspire communities to imagine and build a more sustainable future together.

Limited Edition Prints

Hannah arendt

I am honored to announce that Bard College Hannah Arendt Center has commissioned a Speaking Truth to Power limited edition print featuring words by Hannah Arendt from the Origins of Totalitarianism.