Description

Founded in 1979, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA), has achieved astonishing growth in its brief history—with three locations of architectural renown (MOCA Grand Avenue, The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, and MOCA Pacific Design Center); more than 13,500 members; a permanent collection of nearly 6,000 postwar works; hallmark education programs that are widely emulated; award-winning publications that present original scholarship; and groundbreaking monographic, touring, and thematic exhibitions that survey the art of our time.

Before MOCA was built on this site, Los Angeles was the only major U.S. city without a significant museum dedicated solely to contemporary art. The CRA/LA negotiated an agreement with the California Plaza Partnership (Metropolitan Structures; Cadillac Fairview/California, Inc.; Shapell Industries, Inc.; Goldrich Kest and Associates; and the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company) requiring one and one half percent of the overall California Plaza project be dedicated to construction of a new cultural facility, the Museum of Contemporary Art. The $23 million red Indian sandstone Arata Isozaki- designed facility contains 24,500 ft. of gallery space, staff offices, storage vaults, a bookstore, café, and auditorium.