“Two Figures” by David Acker, 1980, Oil pastel, 25.75” x 39.5”.

The Hudson County Community College Foundation Art Collection has long celebrated and showcased the work of artists from traditionally underrepresented communities, including the LGBTQ community. Today, it also plays a pivotal role in bringing renewed visibility to the memory of talented artists whose work and stories might have otherwise faded from view over the decades. In doing so, the Collection becomes more than a repository of artwork; it serves as a living archive of memory, resilience, and rediscovery.

One such story that deserves to be remembered and reexamined is that of David Acker.

Born in Lima, Peru in 1954 to American parents, Acker came to the United States with his family in 1957. His early life was marked by personal hardship, including the loss of his mother at a young age. He was shy and struggled while growing up and going to school in New Canaan, Connecticut, but he was driven by his creative spirit and carved out his own path. At Earlham College in Indiana, he pursued a double major in Biology and Art. He worked as an intern and apprentice to the artist Nell Blaine, assisting her on several trips to Europe.