Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland facts for kids
 |
|
| Former name | The New Gallery |
|---|---|
| Established | 1968 |
| Location | 11400 Euclid Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44106 |
| Type | Art Museum |
| Collections | Contemporary |
| Visitors | 40,000 annual average |
| Founder | Marjorie Talalay, Nina Castelli Sundell, Agnes Gund |
| Architect | Farshid Moussavi |
| Public transit access |  Little Italy–University Circle |
| Nearest parking | Uptown Cleveland and University Circle |
The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (called moCa for short) is a cool contemporary art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. It's the only place like it in the Cleveland area that focuses on modern art. Three amazing women – Marjorie Talalay, Agnes Gund, and Nina Castelli Sundell – started it in 1968.
Over the years, the museum has changed its name and moved to different spots. It was first known as The New Gallery. Then, in 1984, it became the Cleveland Centre for Contemporary Art. Since 2002, it has been known by its current name, the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, or moCa.
Contents
History of moCa
Early Years: 1968 to 1990
When it first opened in 1968, the gallery was called The New Gallery. It was run by Marjorie Talalay and her husband, Anselm. Back then, it was a business and was located in an old dry-cleaning shop.
In 1974, the gallery changed. It became a non-profit group, meaning it wasn't trying to make money. In 1984, it changed its name to the Cleveland Centre for Contemporary Art (CCCA). The museum moved to a new spot in the Cleveland Playhouse Complex. By 1990, it moved again to a much bigger space. This new spot was a huge 20,000-square-foot area in a former Sears store.
Growing and Moving: 1996 to 2018
In 1996, Jill Snyder became the museum's executive director. She helped the museum grow and become more well-known. In 2002, she led the change from Cleveland Centre for Contemporary Art to the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (moCa).
A big step was moving the museum to Cleveland's Uptown area. This cultural district is near Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Institute of Art. In 2011, the plan to move back to Euclid Avenue was confirmed. The brand-new moCa building opened on October 8, 2012. This building cost $27.2 million and has a similar gallery size to its previous location. In 2018, the museum updated its short name from MOCA to moCa. This was to show its modern art style by highlighting the small "c."
Recent Times: 2020 Onwards
Like many places, the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland closed its doors on March 16, 2020. This was in response to the Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. It has since reopened and continues to welcome visitors.
Awards and Recognition
The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland has received some cool awards:
- Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Silver Status for being sustainable.
- Dominion Community Impact Award (2014).
- Rudy Bruner for Urban Excellence (RBA), Silver Medal (2015).
Amazing Architecture
The moCa building, which opened in 2012, was designed by the British-Iranian architect Farshid Moussavi. She worked with the American architectural firm Westlake Reed Leskosky (WRL). The project cost about $18.7 million. The building is four stories tall and covers 34,000 square feet. Its unique six-sided shape was shown to the public in 2010, and construction took place from 2008 to 2012.
Building Design and Features
The design of moCa helps it fit right into the Uptown neighborhood. It even encourages people to interact with the building's outside. You can enter moCa from all sides of the building on the ground floor. The main entrance faces east, looking out onto Toby's Plaza.
Farshid Moussavi wanted the museum to be like a "public living room" for Cleveland. She hoped it would inspire creativity and growth in the city. The building's materials show off the museum's creative spirit. The outside is made of shiny black stainless steel. This material reflects the sunlight and the plaza around it. The architect used reflective surfaces and walls that can move inside. This helps the museum be both a gallery and an event space. Inside, the gallery walls and ceilings are painted electric blue. This color was chosen to make the artworks stand out even more. It's a fresh take on the usual 'white-cube' gallery look.
Key Spaces Inside moCa
The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland has four floors. Visitors move through the museum using the Kohl Family Monumental Staircase. This staircase connects to the Kohl Atrium and the upper levels. Many spaces inside can be changed using movable glass walls. The top floor, which is 6,000 square feet, uses these walls to allow for different types of events and exhibits. There's also a special area for media art and a lounge with a view of Uptown. This shows how important it is for the building to connect with its surroundings.
Other important areas include the Kohl Atrium, Gund Commons, and the moCa store. These spaces are used for museum programs and events. The Gund Commons is a two-story event space. It has a special garage door that can close off the area for smaller gatherings. The moCa Gift Store is also designed to be flexible. Its shelves can be hidden away to create another open space for events.
How moCa Operates
Welcoming Visitors
moCa is a big part of Cleveland's cultural scene. The museum wants visitors to have a "discovery experience." Since March 19, 2019, daily admission to the museum has been free! This was done to make it easier for everyone to visit and enjoy the art. This free entry is part of their Inclusivity Initiative. This plan also includes programs to help more diverse artists and staff get involved.
Visitor Numbers
The number of people visiting moCa has changed over the years. In the mid-1990s, about 11,000 people visited each year. When Jill Snyder became director, attendance grew to 20,000. In its first year at the Uptown location, moCa welcomed over 56,000 visitors! On average, about 40,000 people visit the museum each year.
Connecting with the Community
After moving to Uptown University Circle in 2012, moCa worked with students from nearby Case Western Reserve University. They wanted to make sure the museum was well-connected to the area. This helped the museum become more visible and attract more visitors to its new location.
Learning Programs
The museum also has great Education Programs. These are part of the Inclusivity Initiative. They offer classes for kids and adults of all ages. You can take interactive tours and join Learning Labs. They also host talks by artists, gallery tours, and other programs that connect with the wider community.
People Behind moCa
The Founders
The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland was started by three key people. Marjorie Talalay co-founded The New Gallery and led it for 25 years. Nina Castelli Sundell, another co-founder, is an American curator. She also helped start Independent Curators International (ICI). The third founder is Agnes Gund. She used to be the president of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Agnes Gund has given and loaned many artworks to moCa's past exhibitions. This has helped the museum grow its modern art collection.
Directors and Leadership
After Marjorie Talalay retired, Jill Snyder became the executive director in 1996. She held this position until 2020. Before moCa, she worked at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Megan Lykins Reich joined moCa in 2004 and became the Executive Director in 2022. In 2020, she wrote an essay about moCa's design, called Making an Urban Living Room.
Art Curators
moCa has a team of six curators. They are Courtenay Finn, Kate Montlack, Ray Juaire, Eli Gfell, La Tanya Autry, and Thea Spittle. The museum especially focuses on artists from Greater Cleveland and Northeastern Ohio. They hold special group shows for regional artists every two years.
Art and Exhibitions
Since the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland doesn't collect art permanently, it can be very flexible. It doesn't have to stick to traditional gallery rules or storage. In its early days, The New Gallery showed works by famous artists like Christo, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, and Roy Lichtenstein. Today, moCa changes its exhibitions three times a year.
Past Exhibitions
- In 2018, moCa celebrated its 50th birthday! As part of the celebrations, they had an "Open House" to encourage more people to visit.
- In 2019, moCa hosted the first show in an American museum by Chinese artist Liu Wei. It was called Invisible Cities. This exhibition was also shown at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Each museum displayed the art in a unique way that fit its building.
Featured Artworks
Some cool temporary artworks that have been shown include:
- Third Man Begins Digging Through Pockets (2012) by Katharina Grosse. This artwork was made especially for the Kohl Atrium.
- OFF THE RULING CLASS (2015) and THE ANTITHINKERS (2015) by Nevet Yitzak. These were two video artworks made for the Gund Commons.
Other popular exhibitions have included Inside Out and From the Ground Up (2012), Corin Hewitt: Hedge (2013), Michelle Grabner: I Work from Home (2013), Dirge: Reflections on (Life and) Death (2014), Kirk Mangus: Things Love (2014), Stranger (2016), and Xavier Cha: abduct (2016).
See also
