![]() ![]() Its original promoter, former Guggenheim head Thomas Krens, and its longtime director, Joe Thompson (a Krens protégé) promised it would be an engine of economic development, and hopes were high that it would radically change the fortunes of this hardscrabble, working-class town in the Berkshires and the surrounding area.Ĭertainly MASS MoCA has had a positive impact on the town of North Adams in the thirty years since the painful process of deindustrialization began. The museum came into existence in the wake of the shutdown of its region’s largest employer, which had occupied the campus for many years. ![]() ![]() There’s always been a lot riding on MASS MoCA’s success. As is often the case with American racism, this exclusion was slow, systemic, and paved with good intentions. How, in 2017, could this happen? Paradoxically, it seems that the very strategies the museum is pursuing to open up its space to multiple voices are themselves responsible for ensuring that the only voices heard are the usual suspects. (We counted five, among several hundred.) But any humor I found in the situation dissipated as I realized what I was being asked to celebrate: a building devoted almost entirely to the work of white artists. The question, of course, is “welcoming to whom”? At the Sunday morning celebration of its opening, a friend and I played a joking game of counting all the people of color there – something I have long done in these parts, feeling, as I do, like a fish out of water in the overwhelmingly white cultural spaces of New England. But size is not its only salient feature: the museum is an experiment in new forms of programming based on partnerships with artists, foundations, and other institutions meant to make it a heterogeneous and welcoming place. And here's a tip: many don't realise that MASS MoCA is as much a performing arts venue as museum, so align your trip with one of our almost weekly presentations of music, theater, dance, and film.On May 28, 2017, MASS MoCA inaugurated its new Building 6, doubling its existing gallery space and turning the 16-acre complex of abandoned, 19 th-century factory buildings into the largest contemporary art museum in the United States. After you've covered the temporary exhibitions, visit as many of our long-term shows that you can. ![]() Most of our shows rotate every year - and most of our shows only appear at MASS MoCA, since we specialise in very large, often impossible-to-replicate installations. MASS MoCA occupies a 16-acre site: with 22 buildings, and an intricate network of courtyards and elevated walkways, there is a lot of art to cover. How should first-time visitors structure their visit? Here MASS MoCA direct director Joseph Thompson presents his insider guide to its most striking works and unexpected facets. With the site hosting a multitude of festivals and one-off events alongside holding an impressive collection of works from the likes of James Turrell and Jenny Holzer, there is invariably much to see - even if every visit is different. Among the largest contemporary art museums in America, MASS MoCA's vast, varied and continually changing collection has long drawn art and culture lovers from the world over to the small Massachusetts town of North Adams. ![]()
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