MOCA LA
MOCA, Downtown Los Angeles
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| Established | 1979 |
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| Location | 250 South Grand Avenue Los Angeles, California 90012 (United States) |
| Coordinates | 34°03′12″N 118°15′03″W / 34.05333°N 118.25083°WCoordinates: 34°03′12″N 118°15′03″W / 34.05333°N 118.25083°W |
| Type | Art museum |
| Director | Philippe Vergne |
| Public transit access |
  Pershing SquareCivic Center/Grand Park |
| Website | www.moca.org |
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) is a contemporary art museum with three locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near Walt Disney Concert Hall. MOCA's original space, initially intended as a "temporary" exhibit space while the main facility was built, is now known as the Geffen Contemporary, in the Little Tokyo district of downtown Los Angeles. The Pacific Design Center facility is in West Hollywood.
The museum's exhibits consist primarily of American and European contemporary art created after 1940. Since the museum's inception, MOCA's programming has been defined by its multi-disciplinary approach to contemporary art.
In a 1979 political fund raising event at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, Councilman Joel Wachs, and local philanthropist Marcia Simon Weisman happened to be seated at the same table. Throughout the evening, Weisman passionately discussed the city's need for a contemporary art museum. Weisman's brother, Norton Simon, had stepped in to bail out the financially ailing Pasadena Art Museum in 1975, but was unable to retain its focus on modern art. In the following weeks, the Mayor's Museum Advisory Committee was organized. The committee, led by William A. Norris, set about creating a museum from scratch, including locating funds, trustees, directors, curators, a gallery, and most importantly an art collection. That same year, Weisman and five other key local collectors signed an agreement whereby they would pledge chunks of their private collections, worth up to $6 million, "to create a museum of standing and repute."
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