Los Angeles is a universal hub of culture, art and creativity. The Museum of Contemporary Art not only contributes to the city’s unsurpassed reputation, it reflects it. Home to over 8,000 pieces, this museum’s collection has dedicated itself to exhibiting artwork from a distinctly Los Angeles point of view. While the art and museum community has historically discriminated against marginalized creatives, MOCA is determined in its efforts to engage with groundbreaking work that explores the experiences of BIPOC, women and gender nonconforming artists. The museum has recently announced its 2023 acquisitions which includes 100 new works of art.

This new collection oscillates between honoring the historical values of the museum and embedding rhetoric from the era we are currently living in. A majority of the pieces in the new collection were previously exhibited at MOCA or from artists with close ties to the museum. One of the most distinguished pieces, Trinket, is a 55 foot long American flag that is blown with special effects until it is tarnished to bits and pieces. Other notable members of the Los Angeles community were generous in their contributions to the collection including Nina and Russell Westbrook and Beth Rudin DeWoody. 

The new acquisitions are an eccentric assortment of mediums and artists. One piece is a hologram work of a renowned dance performance while another is an untitled bronze sculpture. The variety within MOCA’s newest pieces speaks to the nuance within the museum. While MOCA may have physical walls, the ideas explored inside of it encourage limitless boundaries of creativity and conversation

The artists featured in the new acquisition are both living and deceased. Some names include Louise Bonnet, Carole Caroompas, Milano Chow, Alonzo Davis, Buck Ellison, Ishi Glinsky, Channing Hansen, Hannah Hur, Daniel LaRue Johnson, Barbara Kruger, Elad Lassry, Thomas Lawson, Dashiell Manley, Jill Mulleady, Amanda Ross-Ho, Max Hooper Schneider, Ilene Segalove, Barbara T. Smith, Mayo Thompson, and Rosha Yaghmai.

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