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The Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto Canada (MOCA), formerly known as the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA), is a museum and art gallery in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
. It is an independent, registered charitable organization." Toronto’s Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art is on the move"
James Adams, ''The Globe and Mail'', 2 October 2012


History

The museum, originally known as the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA), was founded from the former Art Gallery of North York in 1999. In 2005, MOCCA relocated to a repurposed textile factory in the West Queen West Art + Design District in
downtown Toronto Downtown Toronto is the main central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Stre ...
. The
City of Toronto government The municipal government of Toronto ( incorporated as the City of Toronto) is the local government responsible for administering the city of Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a rec ...
funded the half-million-dollar renovation of the building. In 2015, with its building about to be demolished and replaced by condominiums, MOCCA hosted an interactive exhibit by Dean Baldwin entitled ''Queen West Yacht Club''. At its former location on Queen West, the museum functioned as a hub for creative exchange and played a critical role in shaping the city's contemporary art scene. Through a commitment to collaborative partnerships with leading like-minded artists, organizations, institutions, and festivals from Toronto and further afield, MOCCA connected the city to a national and global network of peers. MOCCA featured the work of over 1,100 Canadian and other international artists, hosted 200+ exhibitions, and welcomed 40,000 annual visitors. As the lease on Queen West wound down, the need to move provided an opportunity to seek a larger space that could accommodate the museum's ever-growing aspirations and significance. In 2016, the museum changed its name to the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto Canada (MOCA). In September 2018, MOCA moved into a 55,000 square foot facility in a renovated former factory in the Lower Junction district. The museum received funding from the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund. The museum is affiliated with the
Canadian Museums Association The Canadian Museums Association (CMA; french: Association des musées canadiens, ''ACM''), is a national non-profit organization for the promotion of museums in Canada. It represents Canadian museum professionals both within Canada and internat ...
, the Ontario Museum Association, and the
Ontario Association of Art Galleries The Galeries Ontario / Ontario Galleries (GOG), formerly Ontario Association of Art Galleries / Association Ontarienne des Galeries d’Art (OAAG/AOGA), was established in 1968 to encourage development of public art galleries, art museums, community ...
.


Award

During its time on Queen Street West, the museum presented the MOCCA Award in Contemporary Art. In 2010, the award was given to
Edward Burtynsky Edward Burtynsky (born February 22, 1955) is a Canadian photographer and artist known for his large format photographs of industrial landscapes. His works depict locations from around the world that represent the increasing development of indust ...
."Edward Burtynsky gifts photos to Vancouver Art Gallery"
''CBC News'', 18 February 2014


Exhibits

The museum's former Queen Street West location featured two large exhibition spaces, a Main Space and a Project Room. More than 80 exhibits and projects were presented in this space, involving about 800 artists, including Suzy Lake and
Kris Knight Kris Knight is a Canadian artist based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Knight's works are mostly portraits; Knight wanted to draw the human face as a child and it continues to be the main thing that he focuses on painting as an adult. Each one of K ...
."Dean Baldwin and MOCCA turned a museum into a yacht club"
Lise Hosein · ''CBC Arts'' 24 July 2015
The museum has also mounted group exhibitions of work by non-Canadian artists. Since 2001, the museum has also presented exhibitions and projects in the United States, China, Taiwan, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.


See also

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Art in Canada Canadian art refers to the visual arts, visual (including painting, photography, and printmaking) as well as plastic arts (such as sculpture) originating from the geographical area of contemporary Canada. Art in Canada is marked by thousands of ...
*
Contemporary art museums Contemporary art museums around the world specialize in collecting and exhibiting contemporary art. The following is an alphabetical listing of major contemporary art museums, divided by country. A number of such museums are named Museum of Cont ...
*
List of art museums Africa Algeria * Algiers: Museum of Modern Art of Algiers, Museum of Popular Arts and Traditions, National Museum of Fine Arts of Algiers * Oran: Ahmed Zabana National Museum ---- Egypt * Cairo: Egyptian Museum, Museum of Isl ...
*
List of museums in Toronto There are a variety of different museums in Toronto. Types of museums located in Toronto include agricultural museums, art museums, fashion museums, food museums, history museums (including historic houses and living museums), military museum ...


References


External links

* * {{authority control Museums in Toronto Contemporary art galleries in Canada Art museums and galleries in Ontario Art museums established in 1999
Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art The Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto Canada (MOCA), formerly known as the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA), is a museum and art gallery in Toronto, Ontario. It is an independent, registered charitable organization. ...