Mission and History:

We are contemporary.
We question and adapt to the changing definitions of art.

We are a museum.
We present, collect, and interpret the art of our time.

We care for the experience of art, the inevitability of change, the multiplicity of perspectives, the urgency of contemporary expression.

Established in 1979, we are the only artist-founded museum in Los Angeles. We are dedicated to collecting and exhibiting contemporary art. We house one of the most compelling collections of contemporary art in the world, comprising roughly 7000 objects, and have a diverse history of ground-breaking, historically-significant exhibitions.

We are committed to the collection, presentation, and interpretation of art created after 1940, in all media, and to preserving that work for future generations. We provide leadership in the field by identifying and presenting the most significant and challenging art of our time, actively supporting the creation of new work, and producing original scholarship.

With three distinct venues in Los Angeles - MOCA Grand Avenue, The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, and MOCA Pacific Design Center - and Michael Heizer’s seminal artwork Double Negative (1969-70) in the Nevada desert, we engage audiences through an ambitious program of exhibitions, educational programs, and publishing.