The Museum of Neon Art (MONA) is an institution that exists to encourage learning and curiosity through the preservation, collection, and interpretation of neon art. The first museum devoted to art that incorporates

neon lighting Neon lighting consists of brightly glowing, electrified glass tubes or bulbs that contain rarefied neon or other gases. Neon lights are a type of cold cathode gas-discharge light. A neon tube is a sealed glass tube with a metal electrode ...

, it exclusively exhibits art in electric media, including kinetic art and outstanding examples of historic

neon sign In the signage industry, neon signs are electric signs lighted by long luminous gas-discharge tubes that contain rarefied neon or other gases. They are the most common use for neon lighting, which was first demonstrated in a modern form in Decem ...

s. Its location in downtown LA closed in 2011 and reopened in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...

in 2016. The collection includes neon signs from the

Brown Derby Brown Derby was a chain of restaurants in Los Angeles, California. The first and best known was shaped like a derby hat, an iconic image that became synonymous with the Golden Age of Hollywood. It was opened by Wilson Mizner in 1926. The chain ...

and

Grauman's Chinese Theatre Grauman's Chinese Theatre (branded as TCL Chinese Theatre for naming rights reasons) is a movie palace on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States. The original Chines ...

. The museum was founded in 1981 by

Lili Lakich Liliana Diane Lakich (born June 4, 1944) is an American artist, best known for her work in neon sculpture. As a child, she had been fascinated by neon advertising, and she built her career around illuminated art, with its special emotional power ...

and Richard Jenkins. For over 20 years Kim Koga was executive director, overseeing crucial moves of the institution and finding it a home in Glendale. In 2020 Corrie Siegel was appointed as executive director. In addition to exhibitions and tours, the museum offers introductory classes in glass bending held in the museum's state-of-the-art studio.

References

External links

* * Contributed photographs ("group pool") related to the museum. Museums in Los Angeles County, California

Museum of Neon Art The Museum of Neon Art (MONA) is an institution that exists to encourage learning and curiosity through the preservation, collection, and interpretation of neon art. The first museum devoted to art that incorporates neon lighting, it exclusively e ...

Art museums and galleries in California Art museums established in 1981

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