The Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art

What The Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art does

The Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) is a private non-profit art museum founded in 1979 as the first institution in Los Angeles devoted exclusively to contemporary art. It operates three physical sites in greater Los Angeles — MOCA Grand Avenue (designed by Arata Isozaki), The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA in Little Tokyo, and the WAREHOUSE performance space — and additionally programs partner venues including REDCAT, The Brick, and The Underground Museum. Its permanent collection spans 800+ artists across geographies, media, and periods, and includes iconic holdings such as Michael Heizer's Double Negative (1969, located in Moapa Valley, Nevada) and Barbara Kruger's Untitled (Questions).

MOCA's product surface is built around rotating exhibitions, the relaunched MOCA Focus solo-show series, the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Environment and Art Prize, the MOCA Artist Film Series presented by the Edward F. Limato Foundation, public programs (Talking Tours, In Session, First Fridays at the Geffen), and education initiatives for teachers, teens, and families. Notable current and upcoming exhibitions include Haegue Yang: Star-Crossed Rendezvous (with the LA Phil), MONUMENTS (co-organized with The Brick), Diary of Flowers, Fictions of Display, Julian Charrière (Schmidt Prize), Cecilia Vicuña (Schmidt Prize), and Afterlives: Japanese American Artists and the Postwar Era. The technology layer is utilitarian: digital ticketing at moca.ticketapp.org, an online collection database, virtual tour capabilities, and the MOCA Stream multimedia platform.

MOCA's revenue mechanics are characteristic of a large U.S. non-profit museum: a tiered annual membership program starting at $30 and scaling through Contributing ($200), Curators Circle ($1,500), and Leadership Circle levels; admissions and special-exhibition ticketing (waived for members); e-commerce via mocastore.org (exhibition catalogues and merchandise); individual donations, corporate sponsorships, foundation grants, and an annual gala; plus event rentals for private and corporate functions. Target audiences span general visitors, members, students and educators, and artists and art professionals, with primary funding drawn from a consortium of major philanthropic partners including the Mellon, MacArthur, and Ford Foundations, and the Schmidts.

Name

The Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art

Legal name

The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles

Website

https://moca.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

MOCA is a private non-profit contemporary art museum operating three Los Angeles venues plus programmed partner spaces, serving the general public, members, students, and artists through rotating exhibitions, education programs, and a tiered membership program starting at $30 annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Art Museum Services

NAICS

Museums (712110), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121)

akta.pro primary industry

Art Museums (THAJADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Art Galleries & Exhibition Spaces (Commercial & Nonprofit) (THAJADAH), Performing Arts & Cultural Event Venues (Theaters, Museums) (THAHAAAG)

Keywords

• Contemporary art museum
• Art exhibitions
• Museum membership
• Art education programs
• Public art collection

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Admissions and Tickets: Revenue from general admission and special exhibition tickets. MOCA members receive free admission to special exhibitions.
2. Memberships: Tiered membership program starting at $30 annually, providing benefits including free admission to exhibitions, member-only previews, and discounts at the MOCA Store.
3. MOCA Store: E-commerce retail operation selling exhibition catalogues, merchandise, books, and art-related products through mocastore.org.
4. Donations and Fundraising: Individual donations, corporate sponsorships, foundation grants, and special events including the annual gala.
5. Event Rentals: Venue rental for private events, corporate functions, and special occasions at museum facilities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) operates a non-profit contemporary art museum presenting rotating exhibitions of contemporary art across two Los Angeles locations: MOCA Grand Avenue and The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. The museum offers a permanent collection, educational programs (tours, talks, film screenings), a tiered membership program, an e-commerce retail store (mocastore.org), and event rental services.

Product overview

The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) operates as a nonprofit art museum offering a unified portfolio of exhibitions, educational programs, and membership services across two primary locations: MOCA Grand Avenue and The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. The institution presents rotating exhibitions of contemporary art featuring both established and emerging international artists. Its core product offerings include: rotating exhibitions (currently featuring Haegue Yang: Star-Crossed Rendezvous, MONUMENTS, Fictions of Display, and Diary of Flowers); the MOCA Focus series for emerging artists; the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Environment and Art Prize; educational programs (Talking Tours, In Session, Artist Film Series); and membership programs. MOCA also operates public art installations at both locations plus the land art piece Double Negative in Nevada, and maintains a retail store. The museum is funded through memberships, donations, and exhibition support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Contemporary Art Exhibitions Rotating contemporary art exhibitions presented across MOCA Grand Avenue and The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA locations, featuring works by established and emerging international artists from MOCA's permanent collection and loaned works. Open to museum visitors.
• MOCA Membership Program Annual tiered membership program starting at $30 for basic individual membership, with Contributing ($200), Curators Circle ($1,500), and Leadership Circle levels providing escalating benefits including free admission to special exhibitions, member-only previews, exclusive events, and discounts at the MOCA Store.
• MOCA Store Retail operation selling exhibition catalogues, featured products, books, and art-related merchandise through the mocastore.org e-commerce platform, with on-site availability at museum locations.
• Education Programs Educational offerings for teachers, teens, all ages, and guided tours, including programs such as Talking Tours, In Session discussions, and MOCA Artist Film Series.
• MOCA Artist Film Series Screening series presenting films and video works by contemporary artists, presented by The Edward F. Limato Foundation at MOCA Grand Avenue and other venues.
• First Fridays Monthly extended-hours programming at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA offering free admission to special exhibitions on the first Friday of each month with special programming.
• Event Rentals Venue rental service for private events, corporate functions, weddings, and special occasions at MOCA Grand Avenue and The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA.
• MOCA Grand Avenue Talking Tours Guided tours held Thursday nights and Saturday afternoons at MOCA Grand Avenue, designed to turn museum visits into shared viewing experiences facilitated by MOCA Educators.
• MOCA Stream Digital streaming platform featuring artist videos, introductions to exhibitions, and multimedia content including the Introducing series, accessible online.
• MOCA Focus Series Relaunched series presenting an artist's first solo museum show in Los Angeles, centered on new or discrete bodies of work, accompanied by monographic catalogues.
• Eric and Wendy Schmidt Environment and Art Prize Juried award supporting artists whose practices engage critical intersections of art, architecture, design, climate, conservation, sustainability, and environmental justice.
• Public Art Installations Permanent outdoor installations at MOCA's locations including works by Nancy Rubins, Barbara Kruger, and Larry Bell, plus the land art piece Double Negative by Michael Heizer in Nevada.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 80 artworks featured in major collection exhibition
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered major, supporting and core.

• Los Angeles PhilharmonicmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 March 2026Cross-institutional collaboration for the Haegue Yang: Star-Crossed Rendezvous exhibition, with the LA Phil performing composer Yun Isang's Double Concerto at Walt Disney Concert Hall, creating a dialogue between visual art and live music performance.
• Frieze Los AngelessupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 November 2025Partnership with cultural institutions for artwork acquisitions including City of Santa Monica Art Bank, California African American Museum, and MAC3.
• The Underground MuseumsupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 November 2025Off-site program venue hosting Quantum Listening: Black Sonic Monuments conversation with esperanza spalding and Harmony Holiday.
• The BrickcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 October 2025Co-organized MONUMENTS exhibition presented at both The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA and The Brick locations. The Brick Director Hamza Walker co-curated the exhibition examining decommissioned monuments and contemporary artworks.
• REDCATsupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner venue for film screenings and performances, including Michael Asher film screenings as part of MOCA Artist Film Series.
• The Edward F. Limato FoundationsupportingOthersFoundation supporting the MOCA Artist Film Series, providing presenting sponsorship for film screenings and programs.
• PerformacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-commissioning partner for Diane Severin Nguyen's WAR SONGS performance, originally commissioned for Performa 2025 Biennial and co-commissioned by MOCA for West Coast premiere.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• The Broad: Contemporary art museum in Downtown Los Angeles with a focus on postwar and contemporary works; directly comparable as a same-city competitor with a permanent collection, free general admission, and rotating exhibitions targeting similar LA audiences and donors.
• Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA): Largest art museum in the western US, also based in LA, with a major contemporary art program; competes with MOCA for visitors, members, corporate sponsorships, and touring exhibitions in the same metro.
• Hammer Museum: UCLA-affiliated contemporary art museum in Westwood, Los Angeles; directly comparable as a peer contemporary-focused museum with public programs, artist commissions, and a similar mid-size nonprofit operating model.
• Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA Chicago): Mid-sized contemporary art museum with a similarly structured membership and donor program, rotating exhibitions, and performance programming; directly comparable in scale and operating model.
• Whitney Museum of American Art: New York-based contemporary art museum with similar curatorial focus on living American and international artists, performance programming, and a comparable membership-driven nonprofit model.
• San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA): West Coast peer contemporary art museum with comparable scale, multi-venue programming, member-driven revenue model, and similar foundation/individual donor mix.
• Dia Art Foundation: Nonprofit contemporary art institution known for large-scale, site-specific, and land art holdings including Heizer, DeMaria, and Turrell works; closely comparable to MOCA's Double Negative land art stewardship and minimal-environment installation focus.

Broad incumbents

• The Getty Center: Major LA art institution with deep endowment and broader art-historical scope; competes with MOCA for high-net-worth donors, corporate sponsorship, and tourism traffic in the LA cultural market.
• Museum of Modern Art (MoMA): The dominant global contemporary/modern art museum; comparable in mission and programming but operates at vastly larger scale with broader collection scope, setting the benchmark MOCA is benchmarked against.

Others

• Hauser & Wirth: Commercial gallery with museum-grade exhibition programming, artist residencies, and educational events; comparable to MOCA as a competitor for contemporary artist commissions and exhibition partnerships, though operating on a for-profit gallery model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/MOCATV
• Facebookfacebook.com/MOCAlosangeles
• Instagraminstagram.com/moca
• TikToktiktok.com/@moca
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/museum-of-contemporary-art

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art