Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia

MOCA GA was co-founded in 2000 by David S. Golden and Annette Cone-Skelton. The museum was the evolution of the idea the co-founders presented in 1989.[1] Annette Cone-Skelton's artist background and David S. Golden's position as the President of CGR Advisors (private real estate investment firm) led them to the idea for a contemporary art museum for the state of Georgia. Prior to MOCA GA, the city was bereft of any major institutions devoted to collecting and showcasing the work made since WWII by regional artists. MOCA GA was founded to fill in that historical gap.[2] Its primary focus was to give Georgia artists a place of their own to protect and to archive the history of the state because so much of it was getting lost. They believed in Georgia artists and wanted to build the finest collection possible. As the collection grew and remained housed in a corporate environment, the co-founders proceeded to creating a museum for the collection.[1]

Established with private funding, MOCA GA began with the extensive collections of Atlanta-based CGR Advisors, a real estate advisory company and Mr Golden's personal collection. The museum's first location was at 1447 Peachtree Street in Atlanta, Georgia. The combined collection features more than 250 works by 110 Georgia artists and includes a variety of mediums—paintings, prints, sculpture, photography, and installation pieces. From bold color lithographs made by Trena Banks, and others to composed photographs by John McWilliams, Virginia Warren Smith, and others.[3]

When the burgeoning collection needed more space, the CGR Advisors decided to move to another location. They also considered selling or giving the collections to various groups but the gap that existed in showcasing Georgia Artists was too large. Annette Cone-Skelton searched for a model of this type of museum but there was none quite like the one they needed, a model whose focus was contemporary art from the state in which it was located. The state of Georgia was in need of this type of institution. In January 2005, MOCA GA moved into the SunTrust Plaza. Two years later, the SunTrust Plaza location closed.[1] In January 2007, MOCA Georgia moved into the downstairs suite M1 at the TULA Art Center at 75 Bennett Street in Atlanta, Georgia. In order to expand exhibition space MOCA GA expanded into additional galleries I, II, and III in Suite A2 and Suite O2 of the TULA Art Center in spring of 2008. MOCA GA now covers about half of the TULA Art Center with additional exhibition space for the permanent collection.[1]

The museum's permanent collection is composed of hundreds of works by Georgia artists. It is among the few contemporary visual arts museum which pays homage to and promotes local artists. To place its artists in a global context, the museum's exhibitions include artists from around the world in addition to Georgia artists. The museum's programs promote the visual arts by creating a forum for active exchange between artists and the community.[2]

MOCA GA is a Georgia non-profit art organization. It relies heavily on membership and community support to operate.[4] MOCA GA has an estimated 9,000 visitors annually. The museum and other Georgia non-profit art organizations frequently provide exhibition space for new and cutting edge contemporary art as well as traditional fine art. Besides visual arts, art organizations also provide facilities for music, performance art, and other arts, as well as education. MOCA GA's base of operation continues to be held at 75 Bennett Street.[1]

MOCA GA membership includes free general admission to artist talks. Admission is $8 for non-members, $5 for students and seniors, and free of charge to Military with ID. Certain events and programming are for members only; other programs are offered to members for free or at a discount. MOCA GA offers various levels of membership, all including free admission to the museum and exhibition openings, and many special events such as artist talks, MOCA GA outings to other venues, and special programs for members.[1]

MOCA GA's solo exhibitions exclusively feature Georgia artists, and group exhibitions often include national and international artists alongside those from Georgia. MOCA GA has mounted more than 120 exhibitions to date. Previous exhibitions include the grand opening exhibition of new sculpture by Martin Emanuel; Artists of the Heath Gallery: 1965–1998, comprising solo exhibitions of works by Herbert Creecy, Cheryl Goldsleger, Kojo Griffin, and Hope Hilton; and special exhibitions from the permanent collection.[3] The exhibitions are accessible online through the museum's website after the exhibits are no longer on display.

In November 2002, the museum mounted Color, Culture, Complexity, an exhibition curated by Ed Spriggs, of the Hammonds House Galleries in Atlanta, and Dan Talley, co-founder of Art Papers magazine and former director of Nexus Contemporary Art Center in Atlanta [5] The exhibition, an exploration of the history and current conditions of race relations in America, highlights the works of artists from around the country and includes digital photographs by Amalia Amaki (of Atlanta and Delaware), computer-generated images by Marcia Cohen (of Atlanta), a triptych painting by Harry DeLorme (of Savannah), iris prints by Robert B. Stewart (of Atlanta), and conceptually derived digital prints by Lisa McGaughey Tuttle (of Atlanta).

Inside the museum

MOCA GA boasts a permanent collection of nearly 600 works of contemporary art by more than 200 Georgia artists. The core of the collection, which was donated by CGR Advisors and David S. Golden in 2001, features work from the mid-1940s through today.[1] The permanent collection includes a variety of media — paintings, prints, sculpture, photography, computer, and installation pieces. The Museum of Contemporary Art embraces diverse media and aesthetics in the works of its permanent collection. The Museum is a collecting institution and will continue to collect, document and archive significant works and documentation by Georgia artists and exhibit them for the benefit of the local community, and of the larger, global community.

MOCA GA's programming includes artists'/curators' talks, tours of the permanent collections, and interpretive tours of exhibitions for schools and the general public.

• High Museum of Art
• Atlanta Contemporary Art Center
• List of contemporary art museums

• Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia website