Skip to Content
Art

MOCA in Crisis ~ Museums

1:03 PM PST on November 19, 2008

The Times has the story on MOCA's latest woes:

Los Angeles' prestigious but chronically underfunded Museum of Contemporary Art has fallen into crisis. Museum Director Jeremy Strick said MOCA is seeking large cash infusions from donors, and this week he did not rule out the possibility of merging with another institution or sharing its collection of almost 6,000 artworks.

Federal tax returns show that even before the current national crisis, MOCA had been draining its reserves to pay operating expenses. In the meantime, the museum's staff has grown.

Unlike the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which is partly controlled by the county, MOCA receives minimal government funding. Its annual budget has grown to exceed $20 million, but it relies on donors to pay about 80% of its expenses. When the gifts have fallen short, as they have more often than not during Strick's nine-year tenure, the museum has gone into its savings.

Photo Credit: JOITS

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More Stories

Scoop: Former L.A. Sheriff’s Deputy Sent Dick Pics To ‘Vulnerable’ Women That He Met While On Duty

A criminal case for “misdemeanor sexual battery” was presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. However, “the case was declined due to insufficient evidence,” a spokesperson for D.A. Nathan Hochman tells L.A. TACO.

July 24, 2026

10 Rising L.A. Directors You Need to Follow

From local short film screenings to Sundance Film Festival, these are the city’s emerging directors keeping the industry alive.

July 24, 2026

Get These Smoked Guinness Chili Burgers For One Day Only In Boyle Heights

The chili is made with Guinness Extra Stout, fire-roasted chiles, chipotles en adobo, spices, dark chocolate, and a beef ball that is smoked over the chili, allowing its fat to drip into the pot, before the meat is folded back in.

July 24, 2026

The Country’s Most Famous Strip Club Hosted Its First Trans Night and We Were There

This wasn't a queer venue making room for trans performers—that already exists. This was one of the country's most recognizable strip clubs deciding that supporting trans dancers is just . . . normal.

July 24, 2026

The 21 Best Soft Serve Shops in Los Angeles, Ranked

Our guide has it all: one dollar cones, hidden gems worth the drive, spots doing something you've never seen before, and the classics that have been here longer than most of us.

Catch Chicano Arts Innovator Gronk In Conversation at Moveable Feast, August 27 In Pasadena

A true legend of L.A. art and innovation, Gronk is the East L.A.-raised, multi-hyphenate artist that formed one quarter of the main nucleus of ASCO, the 1970s and 80s avant garde artists collective famous for confronting and skewering the systems set against Eastside Angelenos and Chicanos.

July 23, 2026