“With our photos showing murals of Angela Davis, Yuri Kochiyama and other social justice activists, we found MOCA’s actions and the title of the exhibition Responses: Asian American Voices Resisting the Tides of Racism to be hypocritical in the greatest sense,” Qian read from the artists’ statement. For months, activist groups have been protesting against the museum’s acceptance of a $35 million concession as part of a jail expansion plan Protesters carrying signs against Johanthan Chu, a real-estate mogul and MOCA’s co-chair, who’s accused of contributing to Chinatown’s gentrification During today’s protest, the two Bay Area artists delivered another message to the museum, read by the activist and architecture student Dorothy Qian.
#Moca restaurant series#
The artists’ withdrawn photo series depicts the Oakland Chinatown communities’ expressions of solidarity with Black Lives Matter protests last summer.
On Monday, July 12, artists Colin Chin and Nicholas Liem sent a letter to MOCA requesting to withdraw their works from the museum’s collection and current exhibition, citing its “complicity” with mass incarceration and the gentrification of Chinatown.
#Moca restaurant windows#
Protesters booed guests who arrived to the opening, confronting them with the chant “Shame on you.” Protesters pressing their signs to MOCA’s windows during the reopening eventĪmong the most vocal opponents of the museum have been artists scheduled to go on view in the museum’s scheduled exhibitions. “They are trying to ignore us because they don’t want to admit to themselves that they are part of such a racist, hateful institution that uses the Asian-American community to prop itself up while beating it down at the same time,” said Jihye Simpkins, one of the protest’s organizers and a member of the Coalition to Protect Chinatown and the Lower East Side. The funds are part of a “community give-back” program included in Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to close the notorious Rikers Island jail complex and replace it with four borough-based detention centers across the city.
#Moca restaurant archive#
These funds were earmarked for a permanent home and performing arts space for MOCA, which suffered a devastating fire in its archive last year.
For months, these groups have been protesting against the museum’s acceptance of a $35 million concession as part of a jail expansion plan that would rehaul and expand an existing 15-story detention complex nearby. These jarring contrasts demonstrate the growing rift between the museum and grassroots organizations, including artist groups, in Chinatown. Located adjacent to the entrance of MOCA Grand Avenue, Lemonade at MOCA is the fast-casual restaurant serving seasonal food and refreshments.About 100 protesters gathered outside of MOCA during the reopening A dance performance to celebrate the MOCA’s reopening after over a year of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic General Information: 213/626-6222 or email Lemonade at MOCA Please note that MOCA is unable to validate parking for any downtown lot.
MOCA Grand Avenue is accessible via public transportation.
#Moca restaurant free#
General admission to MOCA is free courtesy of Carolyn Clark Powers. All visitors must reserve in advance a timed-entry online ticket.
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