Yeah, we don't know how to take that. The $10 million came from MOCA Board President Carolyn Clark Powers as a gift, so everyone can go to MOCA for free. So why pay $3 more on special exhibits from the past cost $15. Why raise prices at the same time you're making general visits free? So weird.
We do have a Hell Mary, saving grace of "Thursday evenings from 5–8pm will continue to be free for all exhibitions, offering an opportunity to see special exhibitions at no cost."
With $10 mill opening up MOCA and now only two locations, it's kind of baffling not to make special exhibitions free for the public too. Our only guess is licensing the work or set up for these special exhibits costs a ton. Or just the extremely strange management that MOCA is known for.
Here's the press release and a heads up on some free activities at the Little Tokyo location.
LOS ANGELES—The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) is pleased to announce that on January 11, 2020 it will begin offering free general admission at both locations. Made possible by a $10 million gift from MOCA Board President Carolyn Clark Powers, the museum is excited to continue finding ways to be a more porous institution offering deeper engagement with our neighbors, our city, and beyond.
“Everyone at MOCA is so excited and proud to share Carolyn’s incredibly generous gift with our visitors!” says MOCA Director Klaus Biesenbach. “Offering free general admission is essential for MOCA to be an active, civic-minded institution, open and inviting to our communities.”
The museum will celebrate the launch of free admission with an opening celebration on Saturday, January 11, 2020 at both of its downtown Los Angeles locations. The day will feature performances, music, artmaking activities, food, and more. It is a day to celebrate MOCA’s friends and neighbors and welcome a larger community into this new and exciting chapter for the museum.
MOCA will, on occasion, charge for special exhibitions. The first of which is the major West Coast survey of internationally renowned Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA in Little Tokyo. Opening May 17, 2020, the exhibition spans more than thirty years of her pioneering work in video and audio installation.
Admission to special exhibitions will increase modestly from MOCA’s current $15 charge to $18. MOCA members will access these exhibitions free of charge. Thursday evenings from 5–8pm will continue to be free for all exhibitions, offering an opportunity to see special exhibitions at no cost. MOCA will also continue to offer discounted ticket prices for students, seniors, and other constituents of MOCA’s community.
This announcement about MOCA’s launch date for free general admission dovetails with the recent news about another gift from longtime MOCA Trustee Wonmi Kwon, her husband Kihong Kwon, and family. Located in MOCA’s Little Tokyo space, Wonmi’s WAREHOUSE Programs will include free curated programs that highlight performance and performing arts, artistic experimentation, experiential installations, a wide range of contemporary and social practices, and festival-like open events such as conventions, summits, readings, idea fairs, concerts, screenings, dance, as well as group, family, and community oriented activities that encourage diverse, intergenerational experiences for new and established audiences. Working in concert, these two transformative gifts allow MOCA to continue establishing itself as a civic and cultural hub for Los Angeles and for the world beyond.
