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{{good article}}{{Short description|Art museum in Sydney, Australia}}{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}{{Use Australian English|date=September 2012}}

factoids

at right.| map_type = Australia Sydney central| map_relief = 1The Rocks, Sydney>The Rocks|mapframe=yes|mapframe-caption=Interactive fullscreen map|mapframe-zoom=13|mapframe-marker=museum|mapframe-wikidata=yesdisplay=it}}George Street, Sydney, Australia| type = Contemporary art| collections = Raminging, Maningrida, Arnott's, Smorgon| collection_size = 4,500PUBLISHER=MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART AUSTRALIA ACCESS-DATE=16 JANUARY 2022, {{rpLAST2=DA SILVA TITLE=VISITOR FIGURES 2020: TOP 100 ART MUSEUMS REVEALED AS ATTENDANCE DROPS BY 77% WORLDWIDE NEWSPAPER=THE ART NEWSPAPER ACCESS-DATE=22 DECEMBER 2021, | founder = John Power; University of Sydney| director = Suzanne Cotter| chairperson = Lorraine Tarabay| curator = Lara Strongman| architect = William Henry Withers,Andrew Andersons,Sam MarshallCircular Quay railway station>Circular Quay ferry wharf>Buses in Sydney>CBD and South East Light Rail}}mca.com.au}}}}The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA), formerly the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, is located on George Street in The Rocks neighbourhood of Sydney. The museum is housed in the Stripped Classical/Art Deco-styled former Maritime Services Board (MSB) building on the western side of Circular Quay. A modern wing was added in 2012.While the museum as an institution was established in 1991, its roots go back a half-century earlier. Expatriate Australian artist JW Power provided for a museum of contemporary art to be established in Sydney in his 1943 will, bequeathing both money and works from his collection to the University of Sydney, his alma mater. The works, along with others acquired with the money, were exhibited mainly as a travelling collection in the decades afterward, stored in two different university buildings. This collection was known as the Power Gallery of Contemporary Art.When the MSB building became available the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney was established in 1991. It rapidly outgrew its space and ran into financial difficulties that were alleviated in the early 21st century under new director Elizabeth Ann Macgregor, who eliminated regular admission fees and diversified the museum's funding sources. After two proposed expansions failed, a design by local architect Sam Marshall met with sufficient approval to raise money for its construction. From 2010 the building underwent a major expansion and re-development, reopening in 2012 as the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia.Power's original intent was for the museum to exhibit contemporary art from all over the world, with work by Australian artists shown only if it was relevant to the other works, but its focus has since changed primarily to Australian contemporary art. The museum's collection contains over 4,000 works by Australian artists acquired since 1989. They span all art forms with strong holdings in painting, photography, sculpture, works on paper, and moving images, as well as significant representation of works by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. The museum runs programs to engage the interest of youth and disabled communities in appreciating and making art.

Building

(File:The Rocks NSW 2000, Australia - panoramio - pj soans.jpg|thumb|right|The museum and the Quay)

Location

The museum building has two wings: the main section housed in the former Maritime Services Board (MSB) building, and the newer Mordant Wing on the museum's northern end. It is located on the waterfront in Sydney's The Rocks neighbourhood. George Street is to the west, and First Fleet Park to the south, Circular Quay on the north and east (pedestrians only on that side, abutting the water). Immediately beyond it, the Cahill Expressway separates the park and The Rocks from Sydney's central business district (CBD).{{Google maps |url=https://www.google.com/maps/@-33.8597974,151.2091223,457m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en |title=Google Maps |access-date=11 December 2021}} Two of the city's landmarks are nearby—the Sydney Opera House is visible a short distance across the harbour and the Cahill turns onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge to the north. Just beyond the expressway to the south are some of Sydney's skyscrapers such as 1 Macquarie Place and the Salesforce Tower{{Google maps |url=https://www.google.com/maps/@-33.8565808,151.210556,1828m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en |title=Google Maps |access-date=11 December 2021}}A broad lawn separates the museum from the quay to its east. To the west and northwest, the Rocks is urban and densely developed up to the bridge's southern approach, with attached two- and three-storey mixed-use buildings from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Nearby, cruise ships moor at the quay, and ferries serving the Sydney area arrive and depart from slips.

Exterior

The architectural style of the building is Stripped Classical/Art Deco.WEB,weblink Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney Architecture, n.d., 1 February 2019,

Former Maritime Services Board building

The former MSB building is a six-storey, 17-bay light orange-brown stone structure in the Stripped Classicism style with Art Deco ornamentation. A slightly projecting central clock tower is complemented by three-bay pavilions projecting two bays at the ends of both elevations. Atop the roof is a modern penthouse with glass facing and a flat roof with wide eaves.WEB, Heritage and Conservation Register,weblink www.shfa.nsw.gov.au, Property NSW, en, 12 December 2021, {{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Two modern roofs, supported by circular metallic pillars, shelter the concrete deck in front of the ground-floor windows between the entrance and the pavilions. The one on the south side has tables and chairs serving the museum's restaurant.{{Google Maps |url=https://www.google.com/maps/@-33.860102,151.2092749,3a,37.5y,241.62h,98.22t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPtO_MLwcBPL-XjnxXm9Jwqb5RKHxH0jKHQx0OX!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPtO_MLwcBPL-XjnxXm9Jwqb5RKHxH0jKHQx0OX%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya60.15957-ro-0-fo100!7i7168!8i3581?hl=en |title=Museum of Contemporary Art Australia |access-date=12 December 2021}} On the west (rear) elevation, the space between the pavilions is filled in with a block of modern shop spaces in an irregularly alternating black and white pattern on the upper storeys similar to that on the museum's newer Mordant Wing.{{Google Maps |url=https://www.google.com/maps/@-33.8600229,151.2086914,3a,75y,78.15h,102.22t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1skpq3nXe0S4nb2M1B-tWUNA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en |title=119 George Street |access-date=12 December 2021}}On the exterior, the foundation level is one course of rusticated polished pink Rob Roy granite which also forms the surround of the main entrance on the east elevation and the auxiliary entrance on the south. The rest of the facade is smooth-dressed orange sandstone, which also forms the surround of the tertiary entrance on the north pavilion of the west facade.{{Google Maps |url=https://www.google.com/maps/@-33.85971,151.2087477,3a,75y,101.24h,92.47t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1ssvXC6AdmiVOxQaYa_Oh61g!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en |title=199 George Street |access-date=12 December 2021}} (File:Museum of Contemporary Art 2 (30398433890).jpg|thumb|right|Central entrance transom)Fenestration takes the form of triple-paned double windows separated by a continuous stone muntin in a continuous vertical recessed strip. On the south end of the building, the windows on the first two storeys are also continuous. The recessed strips and muntins end in a broad plain frieze above the fifth storey separating similar but shorter windows on the sixth storey of the main block. On the central clock tower, the main entrance is a recessed pair of dark bronze doors topped by a sandstone frieze depicting sailors and dockworkers. Above it is a transom of three small four-paned windows with stone muntins. Atop the entryway is a bronze plaque with "Museum of Contemporary Art".See accompanying photoAbove the entrance, the clock tower treatment consists of three more widely separated but otherwise similar windows rising from the third storey to the sixth and topped with a decorative pink granite facade depicting a propeller, wheel, and anchor. A clock set against the sandstone is above. The tower is topped by a narrower stage, a square cupola and three flagpoles.

Mordant Wing

(File:(1)Museum of Contemporary Art-1.jpg|thumb|right|Mordant Wing from northeast)The Mordant Wing on the MSB building's north end is also six storeys high, occupying three-quarters of the remainder of the block not taken up by a local police station building. It is faced in smooth, mostly windowless panels of black, white, and brown stone, made of blocks rectilinear in shape and irregular in size. On the north end is a basement delivery entrance.{{Google Maps |url=https://www.google.com/maps/@-33.8593385,151.2093907,3a,75y,255.9h,112.76t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sEYegsblAq0lObw2k6pST9A!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DEYegsblAq0lObw2k6pST9A%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D147.56258%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en |title=Sydney, New South Wales |access-date=13 December 2021}}The main entrance to the museum is at the southeast corner of the wing, where it abuts the MSB building at a glass-faced stairwell. Sliding glass doors in a glass two-storey entryway open onto a wide stair to the main foyer. Above it is an unsupported projecting three-storey pavilion with strip windows. North of it, a large downward-pointing arrow in the facade at ground level directs visitors to a poem carved in the concrete deck.{{Google Maps |url=https://www.google.com/maps/@-33.8595727,151.209415,3a,90y,272.09h,121.27t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sZxo6dfNlzkvgqpYt1lcVGg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en |title=Sydney, New South Wales |access-date=13 December 2021}}On the west, the wing is similarly faced, with an alleyway leading to another service entrance between the wing and the MSB building. At street level is another, smaller entrance, with glass doors, accompanying the museum's gift shop to its south. The facade also overhangs this entrance, but to a lesser extent than its counterpart on the other facade.{{Google Maps |url=https://www.google.com/maps/@-33.8596178,151.2087622,3a,75y,57.04h,96.05t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sl_byyDbUeJVmk7zDMZsPeA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en |title=Museum |access-date=13 December 2021}} On the roof is a cafe, partially open, with views of the bridge, opera house, and harbour.{{Google Maps |url=https://www.google.com/maps/@-33.8595373,151.2092613,3a,75y,356.63h,88.51t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipOBdnd8_kE69dkI4373gP97W3g_-KQXsISs5vDh!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipOBdnd8_kE69dkI4373gP97W3g_-KQXsISs5vDh%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi3.847785-ya38.923687-ro0.15340605-fo100!7i7200!8i3600?hl=en |title=Museum of Contemporary Art Australia |access-date=14 December 2021}}

Interior

File:'War Is Over! (if you want it) Yoko Ono' exhibition - Sydney, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (10867870486).jpg|thumb|right|An exhibit hall, shown here with work by Yoko OnoYoko OnoWhen used by the Maritime Services Board the interior made extensive use of scagliola and terrazzo to imitate marble flooring and walls, a common technique at the time. A war memorial and associated artwork were also included. These features remain in what was known as Wharfage Hall, the two-story lobby at the building's central entrance.WEB, Ellmoos, Laila, Museum of Contemporary Art,weblink Dictionary of Sydney, 2008, 14 December 2021, Today, adapted for use as a museum, much of the interior is now gallery space with plain white walls, concrete floor, and high ceilings.{{Google Maps |url=https://www.google.com/maps/@-33.8598122,151.2091084,3a,75y,10.67h,88.15t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipMSEpsodMhhUaVY8C1xJVrnyyRmgAGvIRGRhet_!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipMSEpsodMhhUaVY8C1xJVrnyyRmgAGvIRGRhet_%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi0.24735911-ya335.67267-ro-0.48247427-fo100!7i8192!8i4096?hl=en |title=Museum of Contemporary Art Australia |access-date=14 December 2021}}{{Google Maps |url=https://www.google.com/maps/@-33.8598799,151.2089264,3a,75y,258.03h,85.99t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipO4wPg-UCE8EabpcpsDC_iTJk-zXbhYW5gOfNCi!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipO4wPg-UCE8EabpcpsDC_iTJk-zXbhYW5gOfNCi%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0.3146349-ya292.7014-ro-0.555242-fo100!7i8192!8i4096?hl=en |title=Museum of Contemporary Art Australia |access-date=14 December 2021}}{{Google Maps |url=https://www.google.com/maps/@-33.8602099,151.2090214,3a,75y,152.61h,82.46t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipOSsC2bwt-7yYgGRv00z3RWHY6hwe7lj_CDCzkS!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipOSsC2bwt-7yYgGRv00z3RWHY6hwe7lj_CDCzkS%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi0.5053108-ya65.06546-ro-0.42641008-fo100!7i8192!8i4096?hl=en |title=Museum of Contemporary Art Australia |access-date=14 December 2021}}WEB, MCA's chequered reception,weblink Aston, Heath, 2012-03-03, The Sydney Morning Herald, en, 2020-05-28, AV MEDIA, Walking Day, 10 November 2017, Sydney Video Walk 4K - Museum of Contemporary Art Spring 2017, Internet video,weblink 21 December 2021, YouTube, The fourth story's offices have been retained for the museum administration.WEB, Lines of division: The new MCA in Sydney,weblink 8 May 2012, Australian Design Review, en-AU, 17 December 2021, 30 March 2020,weblink dead,

History

1798–1942: Prior history of site

(File:SLNSW 479524 21 Commissariat Stores SH 567.jpg|thumb|right|The Commissariat Stores, in 1872, on what is today the museum's site.)The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia is located south of the landing spot of the First Fleet. The site originally housed two Commissariat Stores, built using convict labour.WEB, Architects, Tanner, October 2008, Museum of Contemporary Art, Circular Quay: Redevelopment and Expansion Heritage Impacts Statement,weblink 2021-04-20, NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, The state government assumed control of the Commissariat Stores in 1901 and leased them to commercial tenants. In 1937, the Circular Quay Planning Committee, which had originally recommended the buildings be demolished to provide parkland, changed its mind and called for them to be replaced with a new office for the Maritime Services Board (MSB), which had been displaced by the Circular Quay Railway. (File:Maritime services building construction.jpg|thumb|right|The MSB building under construction)Demolition was completed in 1939. Originally the committee had considered holding a competition for the new building's design, but by then it had decided to use the MSB's own architects. One, William Henry Withers, designed a Stripped Classical building for the agency, with a central tower meant to echo the pylons of the nearby bridge.BOOK, Margalit, Harry, Murray, Ainslie, Ruan, Xing, Hand & Mind: Conversations on Architecture and The Built World, 2018, University of New South Wales Press, Randwick, New South Wales, 9781742234366, 17–32,weblink 16 December 2021, 3: Composing in Public, {{rp|17}} After site clearance construction was halted in late 1940 since restrictions resulting from the onset of World War II made continued work impossible. The building was resumed in late 1944 with the erection of its steel frame and the offices were opened eight years later by Premier Joseph Cahill. It is listed on both the Register of the National Estate and the New South Wales State Heritage Register.AHD, 102747, Maritime Services Board Building (former), 136–140 George St, The Rocks, NSW, Australia, 21 October 1980, 28 August 2021,

1943–1991: Power Gallery of Contemporary Art

(File:Fisher Library, University of Sydney.JPG|thumb|right|Fisher Library)(File:University of Sydney Madsen Building.png|thumb|right|Madsen Building)The MCA's roots are in the 1943 will of Australian expatriate artist JW Power (1881–1943), the first Australian-born painter to experiment with Cubism.WEB, Bradley, Anthony, Smith, Bernard, Power, John Joseph Wardell (1881–1943),weblink Australian Dictionary of Biography, 2006, 9 December 2021, Independently wealthy from his previous medical career, he specified that upon his wife's death, his personal fortune, mostly stock worth £A2 million (A${{formatprice|{{inflation|AU|2000000|1943}}}} today{{Inflation/fn|AU}}), was to go to his alma mater, the University of Sydney, with the express purpose of informing and educating Australians in the contemporary visual arts. It was to be used specifically for "museums and other places for the purpose ... of suitably housing the works purchased so as to bring the people of Australia in more direct touch with the latest art developments in other countries."WEB, JW Power Collection,weblink Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2021, December 8, 2021, When Powell's wife died in 1961, the bequest was made public; she also willed most of her husband's works to the university. At the time it was the largest monetary bequest ever made to any Australian university or arts organisation. Four years later the university's senate voted to create the Power Institute of Fine Arts as a beginning of fulfilling Power's wishes.In December 1970 the University of Sydney also received the Seymour Bequest for the purposes of a performing arts centre, and sought to combine the two bequests into an arts complex that would include within it the Seymour Centre and the Power Institute facilities, including a home for the Power Gallery.JOURNAL, Archibald, J. F, Haynes, John, 1969-01-11, Art bequests (11 January 1969),weblink The Bulletin, en, 091, 4635, August 28, 2021, BOOK, Murphy, Bernice,weblink Museum of contemporary art : vision & context, Museum of contemporary art, 1993, 976-8097-22-1, Sydney, 105, 443910300, It was opened in 1975 as just a performing arts venue.WEB, Our History,weblink Seymour Centre, 2021, December 8, 2021, This collection of artworks took the form of the 'Power Gallery of Contemporary Art', a traveling collection without a permanent address. Between John Power's death and the eventual establishment of the museum, the collection was mainly housed in the University of Sydney's Fisher Library during the 1970s. It was exhibited in the Madsen Building on campus between 1980 and 1989.

1991–1999: Museum of Contemporary Art

After the relocation of the Maritime Services Board (MSB) to larger premises in 1989, the building and site were donated by the Government of New South Wales to the Museum of Contemporary Art.BOOK, Stephensen, PR, The History & Description of Sydney Harbour, 1966, Rigby, 0589502433, 160, Funded by the University of Sydney and the Power Bequest, restoration, and refurbishment of the building commenced in 1990 under the direction of Andrew Anderson of Peddle Thorp/John Holland Interiors, and the following year the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, officially opened.WEB, Our Building,weblink Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2021, 9 December 2021, Those early years in the museum's own space were difficult. The university agreed to help fund the museum's initial costs but did not make any commitment to the long term, as it was expected that the museum would eventually become financially independent. To that end an admission fee was charged; it did not make up for the shortfall as the university began phasing out its support, and the local and national media began expressing concern for the museum's future.NEWS, Brownell, Ginanne, A Makeover for Contemporary Art in Sydney,weblink The New York Times, 20 March 2012, 13 December 2021, Newspaper stories called attention to the paucity of visitors and called the museum "a place for wankers".PODCAST,weblink Build It; They'll Come: Elizabeth Ann Macgregor, omny.fm, Helen Dalley, 20 June 2021, 22 January 2022, {{rp|00:55}} (File:The Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney.jpg|right|thumb|MCA within the former MSB building, seen here prior to 2012 expansion)The building's former offices had been renovated into a more open space with movable walls to accommodate exhibition requirements, with some rooms left intact as archival spaces. The inadequacy of the renovated MSB building as a gallery space, including circulation and accessibility issues, prompted plans for further renovations. In 1997, an international competition was launched for redesigns of the site.JOURNAL, Humphries, Oscar, May 2012, A New Horizon: the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney reopened in March following an 18-month redevelopment. Its transformation further enlivens the cultural landscape of Australia, and is the latest development in the increasingly international profile of Australian art, Apollo, 175, 62–65, Gale Academic Onefile, The Japanese architectural studio SANAA won, but its plans were abandoned after site investigations revealed the archaeological remains of a colonial dockyard beneath the museum's car park. Another competition was held in 2000; it was won by Sauerbruch Hutton. Their proposal, which called for demolishing the MSB building, met public outcry, and these plans too were abandoned.

1999–2010: Macgregor hiring

(File:Elizabeth Ann Macgregor January 2012 (2).jpg|thumb|right|Elizabeth Ann McGregor, director of the MCA 1999–2021)In 1999, with the MCA facing the prospect of bankruptcy,NEWS, Finkel, Jori, Jori Finkel, Topping a million visitors: how MCA Australia broadened the appeal of contemporary art,weblink The Art Newspaper, 4 April 2019, 18 December 2021, having just enough money to make payroll for a few weeks,{{rp|08:10}} the board hired Elizabeth Ann Macgregor, a Scot who had worked with the Arts Council of Great Britain, as director. She nearly quit within 48 hours of taking the job{{rp|08:45–09:20}} when the board wanted to hire a co-director so she could focus on the artistic vision behind the museum.NEWS, Morris, Linda, After 22 years at the MCA, Liz Ann Macgregor looks to the future,weblink Sydney Morning Herald, 29 October 2021, 20 January 2022, Macgregor had previously held the same post at the Ikon Gallery, a major contemporary art museum also housed in a repurposed heritage-listed building in Birmingham. Shortly after taking over, to encourage more visitation, she eliminated the $12{{rp|07:35}} entrance fee, after securing a half-million-dollar sponsorship{{rp|12:10}} from Telstra. Initially, Macgregor was apprehensive, sleeping poorly for a week out of fear no one would come to see the museum even if it cost them nothing to do so. When the museum opened for the 12th Biennale of Sydney in 2000, a festival headlined by Yoko Ono, "we were packed", Macgregor recalled. "As soon as we did that, it completely changed the atmosphere. People came in out of curiosity", she later told The New York Times (A fee is still charged for admission to temporary special exhibitions). Within a year, visitation increased threefold.{{rp|15:20}}Per her belief that contemporary art should be for everyone, especially the many people who believe it is only for the wealthy cultural elite, Macgregor began reaching out to the communities of Greater Western Sydney. After the museum sponsored a free shuttle bus from a Blacktown festival to the museum, the mayor told her that he had much appreciated the museum and begun to rethink his position on contemporary art. The museum also partnered with the Penrith Panthers rugby team. "They were looking to change their image as much as we were looking to change ours," Macgregor said.{{rp|16:50–17:50}}Macgregor also began requiring that curators consult with less artistically inclined peers about the text in wall labels identifying and describing the adjacent works. "Sometimes it's an IT manager, sometimes it's a receptionist", she said later. "[I]t's about curators making sure their labels are legible to their peers."After fending off a 2000 effort by the Art Gallery of New South Wales to annex the MCA, McGregor began developing plans in 2002 for an extension to the museum. Two years later, developers sought to get the museum to agree to move off the Quay in order to build a luxury hotel on the site. In 2005, the museum's permanent collection was moved to storage offsite to create more exhibit space. The sixfold increase in annual visitation that ensued made problems with the museum's ageing physical plant more apparent. "The elevators were well past their natural life, the stair circulation was not appropriate and there was no infrastructure to deal with disabled people", recalled Simon Mordant, a Sydney investment banker who later chaired the MCA board. "We started to burst at the seams." Some state officials, hoping to redevelop the site more commercially, urged the museum to move and tried to direct it to other locations, but Mordant and the museum management insisted on remaining, finding the current site to be a unique asset.

2010–2012: Addition

(File:Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (6867642498).jpg|right|thumb|The museum's George St entrance in The Rocks)In 2010 the museum closed for its long-desired extensions. They were built to a design by Sydney architect Sam Marshall, taking two forms: infill on the building's west facade, allowing shop space on the ground floor facing George Street, and the new Mordant Wing on the north. The latter was named after the board chairman and his wife, whose initial gift of $10 million, followed by a later $5 million, was the largest single financial contribution to it, allaying concerns that the recent financial crisis would make the addition impossible to finance. The federal, state and city governments combined for $27 million; private benefactors donated the remaining $7.5 millionNEWS, Phillips, Juanita, Anne Maria Nicholson, Anthony Albanese, Kristina Keneally, and Elizabeth Ann Macgregor, May 2010, Major Facelift to Make Sydney's MCA World Class: Work Will Begin next Month on a Major Upgrade of Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art, ABC News NSW,weblink 28 August 2021, of the building's total $53 million cost. From 2010 the building underwent a A$58 million expansion and re-development,NEWS,weblink 26 May 2012, 2012-06-04, Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art to reopen in 2012, World Interior Design Network, Australia, dead,weblink" title="archive.today/20130210060631weblink">weblink 10 February 2013, It was constructed in a Cubist architectural style, appearing as a series of overlapping white, black, and brown boxes that contrasts with the main building.The building reopened as the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia.JOURNAL, Dale, Kneen, Starchitects in Our Eyes, High Life, British Airways, Summer 2012, 16–17, A portion of the new wing opened with an exhibit of work by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer in December 2011; the remainder was opened the following March.WEB,weblink The MCA's new Mordant Wing, 2012-04-29, Artist Profile, en-US, 2019-04-17, The wing added {{cvt|4500|m2}} in floor space, including a café, sculpture terrace and two harbour-side function venues, nearly doubling the museum's available exhibit space and allowing additional revenue to keep the museum financially independent (Approximately 70 per cent of the museum's annual income is from a variety of sources such as exhibitions and events, sponsorship, donations and venue hire. The balance is made up through ongoing funding and support from the state government through Create NSW and the federal government through the Australia Council.WEB,weblink About the MCA, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, August 28, 2021, ). The renovations additionally supplied the new National Centre for Creative Learning with multimedia and digital studios, as well as a 117-seat lecture theatre. The dual entranceways of the new wing additionally connected George Street and Circular Quay for the first time.Marshall's primary inspiration for the new wing was the sculptures of Donald Judd. The volumes of the individual blocks vary to reflect the function of the space within them. Their colors are taken from those appearing in the vicinity: the bridge, expressway, and various buildings in The Rocks, all visible from the museum. Marshall and the architects who reviewed and advised on his plans were mindful of modern additions to older museums that have not been seen as architecturally successful, such as Daniel Libeskind's addition to Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum, where the inclined walls precluded hanging paintings.{{rp|28–30}}

Reception

Before it was even opened in full the new wing had sharply divided architects and critics, primarily over the question of how it balanced the new and the old. The direct connection between George Street and the Quay was praised by most commentators regardless of their overall verdict. Elizabeth Farrelly, generally cool to the wing{{efn|She would later clarify that "[m]y view is not that it's a bad building, but that it was badly briefed." She also feared that the style would not date well.MAGAZINE, Neustein, David, MCA: open conversation or guarded debate?,weblink Australian Design Review, 4 May 2012, 18 December 2021, 18 December 2021,weblink dead, }} in a March 2012 Sydney Morning Herald opinion piece, called that connection "undeniably the new building's triumphant spatial moment."NEWS, Farrelly, Elizabeth, Elizabeth Farrelly, Spatial delight gets lost at MCA,weblink Sydney Morning Herald, 26 March 2012, 18 December 2012, Artist Profile, much more enthusiastic about the addition, which it said "successfully fuses the old with the new by forging innovative ways through which audiences can interact with and understand the work on offer", used similar language. But both they and Farrelly thought that entrance might have been better located at the MSB building's centre rather than the junction between the new and old wings.Another aspect of the addition that bridged both positive and negative views of it was a belief that the MSB building should have been demolished. Farrelly, who did not express that opinion, wrote that the best thing about the new wing was that it was now obvious that "inside the World's Dreariest Building, something interesting is happening." In a glowing review, calling the building "a resounding success", ArchitectureAU{{'}}s Penny Craswell said it was "unfortunate" that the MSB building had been retained. Architect Philip Cox, designer of The Star, Sydney casino on the nearby Pyrmont waterfront, who called the addition "bland architecture of old with the bland architecture of new",NEWS, Heath, Aston, MCA's chequered reception,weblink Sydney Morning Herald, 3 March 2012, 18 December 2021, told Marshall at a debate that the MCA building should have been demolished, as the SANAA plan had proposed, so the museum could start afresh: "There was a one in 500-year opportunity to do a great building at Circular Quay." Marshall allowed that if he could have demolished the MCA building, he would have.Anderson, the architect who had supervised the original adaptation of the MSB into the MCA, was also unimpressed with the addition, calling it "insensitive" to the original building. "As you get closer and closer to a building there should be finer details that hold the eye and delight. With this building as you move closer there is nothing more to see", he told the Herald. He was also critical of the building's lack of windows on its north and east faces. "That's the most iconic view in Sydney ignored."

2012–2019: Growth

(File:Museum of Contemporary Art projection Vivid 2015 - 01.JPG|thumb|right|Image projected on the MCA during Vivid 2015)With the new addition completed, museum attendance in 2012 reached nearly 850,000, a 31 per cent increase from the last time it had been fully opening two years prior. In 2015 the Herald noted that the MCA had become as popular with museumgoers as the Art Gallery of New South Wales, despite receiving much less government funding. In the years afterward, the MCA began exceeding a million visitors annually, with a new record of 1.1 million in 2018, more than London's Serpentine Galleries and Beijing's UCCA Center for Contemporary Art attracted that same year. International and younger visitors account for significant shares of the MCA visitation, at 40 and 46 per cent respectively.In 2019 McGregor, recalling the beginning of her career driving a traveling contemporary art exhibit around Scotland in a bus, told The Art Newspaper that "I have a great belief that contemporary art should and could be for everyone." To that end, she hired around 84 working artists for the museum's visitor services team, particularly in the front of the house and as educators. "We are probably the largest employer of artists in Australia," says Mordant. "I think that is one reason for our success—we place artists at the centre of everything we do."The artists on staff who interact with the public are also trained to make the work on display accessible to the public. "We don't shy away from putting on difficult art, but we want people to feel comfortable while they engage with it", says McGregor. In late 2017 the museum put on one of its most successful exhibits ever, Pipilotti Rist's Sip My Ocean. "It set a benchmark that I don't know if we'll ever reach again", she recalled. Tickets to it sold out regularly over the nearly four months it was at the MCA; the museum extended its hours and offered special "unplugged" nights where selfies were forbidden to accommodate the crowds. McGregor credited the coincidence of an exhibit by an artist whose work celebrates the female body opening just as the #MeToo movement began trending worldwide. For 2019 the museum's visitation again exceeded a million; according to The Art Newspaper this made it the world's most-visited contemporary art museum.{{rp|24:20}}

2020–present: Pandemic and leadership changes

(File:Bushfire smoke over the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge in December 2019.jpg|thumb|right|Smoky skies and haze in Sydney from the December 2019 bushfires)Those increased attendance numbers did not last. The severe bushfires that began in summer 2019 had the effect of depressing tourism in New South Wales,NEWS, Blake, Elissa, 'Our income vanished': Australia's galleries and museums buckle in Covid-19 storm,weblink The Guardian, 7 May 2020, 21 December 2021, and just as the fires were finally being extinguished the COVID-19 pandemic began. The Australian government limited all non-essential indoor gatherings to a hundred people, including staff; the MCA complied with the order by severely limiting attendance.NEWS, McGivern, Hannah, Kenney, Nancy, Here are the museums that have closed (so far) due to coronavirus,weblink The Art Newspaper, 14 March 2020, 21 December 2021, By May all galleries and museums in the country were closed indefinitely. In the absence of foot traffic, McGregor estimated, 40 per cent of the museum's funding was lost instantly, which she said made "our much-lauded funding mix" problematic, as the MCA relies on government support for only a quarter of its budget, unlike other institutions for which it constitutes the majority of funding. The museum relied at first on its donor base, which McGregor said was very willing to let it use the money they had contributed with other purposes in mind for the more basic purpose of keeping the museum running. Because of that reliance on private funding, later the MCA was able to tap the government JobKeeper program to keep staff on the payroll, which helped it avoid some "truly horrible" scenarios such as the voluntary administration that Carriageworks, elsewhere in Sydney, had been forced into by then as the pandemic dried up its revenue stream, or laying off 30 per cent of its staff.{{rp|29:30}} The MCA established digital online programs to keep the public engaged.PRESS RELEASE, MCA Australia launches online program Your MCA,weblink Sydney, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 17 April 2020, 22 December 2021, When Macgregor learned that many of the children at schools in West Sydney the museum had been doing outreach to did not have Internet access at home, she reached out to The Daily Telegraph, and the museum staff wound up producing the creative activities section for the paper's Hibernate supplement for the duration of the lockdowns.{{rp|30:15}} In June the museum was able to reopen at least for visits to the exhibit halls by individuals or small groups and stay open through October.WEB, Annual Report 2020: MCA Australia,weblink Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 5 May 2021, 22 December 2021, {{rp|7}}During this break, the museum's leadership changed. In July 2020, Lorraine Tarabay, another investment bankerNEWS, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia Appoints Lorraine Tarabay Board Chair,weblink Artforum, 4 May 2020, 22 December 2021, and contemporary art collector, took over the chair of the board from Mordant,NEWS, Kembrey, Melanie, Lorraine Tarabay named next chair of Museum of Contemporary Art,weblink April 30, 2020, The Sydney Morning Herald, en, August 28, 2021, who remains involved with the museum as its international ambassador.PRESS RELEASE, MCA Australia appoints new Chairman,weblink Sydney, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 1 May 2020, 22 December 2021, Artist Danie Mellor also joined the 11-member board, which already includes Qantas head Alan Joyce, Carnival Australia head Ann Sherry and other prominent individuals from the art and business worlds.{{rp|6}}By the end of 2020, the museum had been closed for 114 days. Visitation had dropped by nearly two-thirds from 2019, to under 370,000. In February 2021 the museum opened a major rehang of its permanent collection on the second floor,PRESS RELEASE, The MCA presents a major rehang of its permanent Collection,weblink Sydney, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 13 January 2021, 22 December 2021, and in October the entire museum was able to reopen, albeit with strict health protocols required by the state in place, not only the previous capacity restrictions but mask requirements throughout the building and proof of vaccination required for all visitors over 16. Exhibitions by Richard Bell and Doug Aitken greeted those museumgoers who returned.PRESS RELEASE, Greig, Charlotte, 12 October 2021, The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) re-opens its doors on Tuesday 12 October,weblink Sydney, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 22 December 2021, Within her first year as chair, Tarabay oversaw the hiring process for a new director when McGregor stepped down in March 2021 after 22 years at MCA to return to Scotland and spend more time with her family.NEWS, Morris, Linda, 3 March 2021, Museum of Contemporary Art director Liz Ann Macgregor to step down,weblink 22 December 2021, The Sydney Morning Herald, Melbourne native Suzanne Cotter, was hired to replace McGregor in July 2021. Cotter had previously been director of the MUDAM in Luxembourg and the Serralves Foundation Museum of Contemporary Art in Portugal. McGregor stayed in the position through October; Cotter formally assumed responsibilities in January 2022.PRESS RELEASE, Greig, Charlotte, Suzanne Cotter appointed new Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA),weblink Sydney, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 22 July 2021, 22 December 2021, (File:Hanging objects in the second floor of Museum of Contemporary Art (2).jpg|thumb|Hanging objects in the second floor)

Financing and governance

Macgregor made up for the loss of revenue from the abolition of the regular entrance fee at the beginning of her tenure with increased monetization of the museum's book and gift shops. "As one of my colleagues says, you charge them to get out", she told The Art Newspaper in 2019. The donation boxes at the entrances also captured additional funding from patrons, and after the 2010 renovations the cafés and rent from the spaces inside the museum ($4 million, according to Macgregor.{{rp|28:50}}) and shops and other tenants on George Street, including the {{convert|600|m2|sqft|adj=on}}PRESS RELEASE, Piggin, Jeremy, 28 May 2013, Office Space in Museum of Contemporary Art Building Leased To Australian Olympic Committee,weblink Ray White Commercial, 8 March 2022, 8 March 2022,weblink dead, main offices of the Australian Olympic Committee,NEWS, Albert, Jane, The 'outsider' steering the MCA through the crisis,weblink Australian Financial Review, 1 May 2020, 7 March 2022, further supplemented the museum's self-generated income.In the years before the pandemic, the museum had been taking $22–23 million annually{{rp|71}} (it dropped to $20 million in 2020{{rp|59}}) About 22 per cent of that (around $5 million) came in the form of government grants; the 2020 JobSeeker grant added an additional $3.8 million in public money.{{rp|59}} Another 24 per cent was from private and corporate donors; the rest came from its various other sources of revenue, such as spending at the shops, admission fees to special exhibitions and earned interest.{{rp|59}}Most of the museum's revenue went to expenses, leaving a small surplus in 2018 but a half-million dollar deficit in 2019. A $4.5 million drop-in program expenses, combined with the JobSeeker grant, resulted in a $2.3 million surplus for 2020 (donations also increased tenfold, largely thanks to one individual{{rp|31:20}}). Macgregor said in early 2021 that the museum would still have a deficit the next year,NEWS, Burke, Kelly, 'An enormous legacy': Museum of Contemporary Art director calls it quits after 22 years,weblink The Guardian, 4 March 2021, 20 January 2022, and will need to find $800,000 in new funding every year "just to stand still".The museum's direction is set by its board, which {{as of|January 2022|lc=yes}} has 11 members. Lorraine Tarabay is the current chair, having taken over from Simon Mordant in 2020 after joining the board four years previously.WEB, MCA Board members,weblink Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2022, 20 January 2022, Director Suzanne Cotter, who took over from MacGregor in 2022, oversees a staff of 10 directors who have responsibility for all areas of the museum's administration, from curation to digital production.WEB, Leadership team,weblink Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2022, 20 January 2022,

Collections

What is now the museum's main collection emerged from the Power Collection in the original founding of the museum. The museum's initial acquisitions policy, based on the will of John Power, sought to acquire mainly international contemporary art whilst only "very occasionally" purchasing Australian art as complementary to its foreign collection.BOOK, Murphy, Bernice,weblink Museum of contemporary art : vision & context, Museum of contemporary art, 1993, 976-8097-22-1, Sydney, 93, 443910300, From 2002, the museum has shifted to increase its emphasis on Australian artists and {{as of|2020|lc=yes}} held over 4,500 works.WEB, The 'outsider' steering the MCA through the crisis,weblink 2020-04-30, Australian Financial Review, en, 2020-05-29, {{as of|2012}} it was the only contemporary art museum in Australia with a permanent collection.

The Ramingining Collection

The Ramingining Collection, purchased in 1984–1985, comprises more than 250 works by over 80 Yolŋu artists from Ramingining, Arnhem Land, Northern Territory.BOOK, Liberiou, Katrina, Djalkiri: Yolŋu Art, Collaborations and Collections, Sydney University Press, 2021, 9781743327272, Conway, Rebecca, Sydney, 202–211, Crossing Paths with the Ramingining Collection, {{as of|2023}} the collection contains 257 items,WEB, Ramingining Collection, MCA Australia, 16 June 2023,weblink 27 August 2023, consisting of bark paintings, woven objects, sculpture, and cultural objects such as spears and tools. The collection was originally acquired by the University of Sydney for the Power Collection following the 1984 exhibition Objects and Representations from Ramingining, curated by Djon Mundine for the Power Gallery of Contemporary Art.BOOK, Jagodzińska, Katarzyna,weblink Art Museums in Australia, Jagiellonian University Press, 2018, 9788323343363, Krakow, 214, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 28 August 2021, Mundine had created the collection between 1981 and 1984, when he was an arts adviser at Bula'Bula Arts in Ramingining.WEB, Philip Gudthaykudthay - The Pussycat and the Kangaroo, curated by Djon Mundine OAM in association with Bula'bula Arts Aboriginal Corporation, Ramingining, at The Commercial, Sydney 27 Aug 2023-27 Aug 2023, The Commercial,weblink 27 August 2023, In 1996, the Ramingining Collection was displayed at the MCA. The Native Born: Objects and Representations from Ramingining, Arnhem Land., its first exhibition, was curated by Djon Mundine. Four years later, it was displayed in the entrance galleries in the Yolnu Science: Objects and Representations from Ramingining, Arnhem Land exhibition to coincide with the Olympics, curated by Djon Mundine and Linda Michael.

The Maningrida Collection

Formed by Diane Moon in 1990,WEB, Australia, National Museum of, 2011-06-08, Understanding Museums – Transforming culture,weblink 2021-05-29, nma.gov.au, the Maningrida Collection contains 560 works from the Maningrida community in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory.JOURNAL, Wallace, Sue‐anne, 2000, From campus to city: university museums in Australia,weblink Museum International, en, 52, 3, 32–37, 10.1111/1468-0033.00270, 145320336, 1350-0775, August 28, 2021, Ownership of the pieces belongs to the Maningrida people, with the collection subject to a unique cultural agreement between the museum and the community. The collection includes sculpture, woven objects and bark paintings. The museum works with Indigenous researchers, curators and artists and Maningrida Arts and Culture to document and research objects within the collection.WEB, Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation Maningrida, 2020, Maningrida Arts & Culture: Annual Report 2019–20,weblink dead, 21 May 2021, Maningrida Arts & Culture, 2 June 2021,weblink The cultural agreement between both parties is renegotiated regularly to ensure a positive relationship.WEB, Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation Maningrida, 2019, Maningrida Arts & Culture: Annual Report 2018–19,weblink 21 May 2021, Maningrida Arts and Culture, In 2018, the MCA in association with Maningrida Arts and Culture held the John Mawurndjul: I am the old and new exhibition of works by John Mawurndjul. More than 130,000 people attended; it was additionally displayed at eight regional Australian galleries.WEB, Charles Darwin University Australia, 2021, Charles Darwin University Art Gallery presents John Mawurndjul: I am the old and the new,weblink 21 May 2021, Two works by John Mawurndjul, Nawarramulmul (Shooting Star Spirit, 1988) and Ngalyod (Female Rainbow Serpent, 1988), were the first artworks acquired for the dedicated MCA collection in 1989.

The Arnott's Collection

The Arnott's Collection was formed following the donation of 285 bark paintings by the Arnott family in 1993.JOURNAL, Eccles, Jeremy, March 2011, Bardayal 'Lofty' Nadjamerrek AO,weblink Art Monthly Australia, 237, 26–29, Informit, 28 August 2021, The collection featured in Djon Mundine's 2008 exhibition They are meditating: bark paintings from the MCA's Arnott's Collection.JOURNAL, Sprague, Quentin, 2016, Making in translation: the intercultural broker in indigenous Australian art,weblink Doctor of Philosophy Thesis, School of the Arts, English and Media, University of Wollongong, 1–353, 28 August 2021,

The Smorgon Collection

The Smorgon Collection was donated to the MCA in 1995 by philanthropists Loti and Victor Smorgon. It contains 149 contemporary Australian works from the 1980s and 1990s.JOURNAL, Bojic, Zoja, 2012, Art curatorship within and outside museum,weblink ICOM SEE Singidunum University CIK, 1–93, ResearchGate, 28 August 2021, In 2012, a donation by Loti went to build a sculpture terrace on the museum's fourth level, subsequently named for her.PRESS RELEASE, MCA Commemorates Arts Benefactor Loti Smorgon on Art.Base.BASE,weblink 21 August 2013, 28 August 2021, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Art.Base,

Selected temporary exhibitions

(File:'War Is Over! (if you want it) Yoko Ono' exhibition - Sydney, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (10867844565).jpg|right|thumb|Yoko Ono at the opening of her exhibition in 2013.)

• Pipilotti Rist – ‘Sip My Ocean’ (2018)
• Grayson Perry – ‘My Pretty Little Art Career’ (2016)
• Yoko Ono – ‘War is Over! (if you want it)’ (2013)
• Anish Kapoor (2013)
• Annie Leibovitz – ‘A Photographer’s Life 1990–2005’ (2011)
• Yayoi Kusama – ‘Mirrored Years’ (2009)
• Patricia Piccinini – ‘Call of the Wild’ (2002)
• Cindy Sherman – ‘Retrospective’ (1999)
• Marina Abramović – ‘objects, performance, video, sound’ (1998)
• Keith Haring (1996)
• Andy Warhol – 'Portraits’ (1994)

Primavera exhibition

Primavera: The Belinda Jackson Exhibit, Australia's longest running exhibition, has been staged annually since 1992 in honour of Edward and Cynthia Jackson's daughter Belinda, a jewellery maker.JOURNAL, Fitzgerald, Michael, December 2016, A Transfer of Stimulus and Creativity: 25 Years of 'Primavera', Art Monthly Australasia, 295, 54–65, 1033-4025, Informit, It exhibits the work of Australian artists aged 35 or younger for several summer months.WEB,weblink Cynthia Jackson looks back on 25 years of the Primavera exhibition, which celebrates her daughter's life, The Daily Telegraph, Elizabeth, Fortescue, 15 December 2016, 21 May 2020, Primavera provides the opportunity for artists not yet established to have their work displayed in a large institution.JOURNAL, O'Toole, Phil, December 1997, Primavera: The Belinda Jackson Exhibition of Young Artists, Eyeline, 35, 37–38, 0818-8734, Informit,  The exhibition often utilises guest curators, although curatorial staff from the Museum of Contemporary Art have also worked on past Primaveras.JOURNAL, Novak, Karolina, 2013, Marianne Hulsbosch, Examining Museum Education Kits Using a Cultural Capital Lens: The Positioning of Visual Arts Teachers and Their Students Within Museum Education Kits,weblink The International Journal of the Inclusive Museum, 5, 3, 37–49, 10.18848/1835-2014/CGP/v05i03/58323, ResearchGate, 28 August 2021,  Each yearly exhibit is designed with a unique theme. In 2011, as a result of the museum renovations, the Primavera exhibit was held off-site. Artworks from the exhibition were displayed in various places around the museum and throughout The Rocks area of Sydney.  

Tate x MCA Collaboration

In 2015, a five-year collaborative project was announced between the Tate Galleries of Britain and the MCA for the mutual acquisition of contemporary Australian artworks.PRESS RELEASE, Tate, MCA, Tate and Qantas announce three new Australian artwork acquisitions – Press Release,weblink 24 May 2019, 28 August 2021, Tate, en-GB, It is aimed at increasing the reputation of Australian art internationally. Funded by a $2.75 million donation from the Qantas Foundation, the galleries have acquired 23 pieces by 16 major Australian artists, many of which have been displayed at both institutions.JOURNAL, Eccles, Jeremy, January 2017, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia/Tate Project,weblink Eyeline, 86, 62–65, Informit, 28 August 2021,  

The National

The National is a series of biennial survey exhibitions featuring contemporary artists, run as a partnership between the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Carriageworks and the MCA and held across the three venues.WEB, The National 2021: New Australian Art, The National, 5 September 2021,weblink 15 September 2021, WEB, About, The National, 28 October 2020,weblink 15 September 2021, The National: New Australian Art exhibition was launched in 2017, designed to "reflect the diversity of cultural, political and social perspectives that preoccupy [Australian] artists". The National was designed in three iterations, with the later ones in 2019 and 2021, exhibiting the work of 150 Australian artists.JOURNAL, Yip, Andrew, 2017, The National 2017: New Australian Art: Art Gallery of New South Wales, Carriageworks, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 30 March – 16 July 2017., Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art, 17, 256–260, 10.1080/14434318.2017.1450065, 194997479, Taylor and Francis Online,

Programs

The Museum of Contemporary Art holds a number of public programs over its calendar year, including an Indigenous learning program and an 'Art + Dementia' research program.WEB, Artful: Art and Dementia report {{!, MCA Australia {{!}} MCA Australia |url=https://www.mca.com.au/learn/art-dementia/artful-art-and-dementia-report/ |website=www.mca.com.au|language=en |access-date=2020-05-29}}

The Bella program

The Bella program was established in 1993JOURNAL, Cann, Richard, May 2012, MCA brings art education into the digital age,weblink Education, 93, 17, Trove, 28 August 2021, by patrons Edward and Cynthia Jackson and the Jackson family.JOURNAL, McMillen, Rebecca, 2011, Diverse audiences: disability access and the art museum,weblink Pacific Journal, 6, 65–73, 11418/510, Fresno Pacific University, 28 August 2021, The program season previously coincided with the Primavera exhibition, however the addition of the National Centre for Creative Learning and funding from private benefactors in 2012 allowed for the Bella program to be run year-round. Tailored for young peopleJOURNAL, McDonald, Gay, 2012, Engaging art museum audiences: the MCA's National Centre for Creative Learning, Art and Australia, 49, 403–405, Gale Academic Onefile, the program focuses on issues of access to contemporary art for people with disabilities, and socially and financially disadvantaged individuals. The program offers sessions in the galleries and hands-on workshops.In 2011, the Bella program collaborated with Good Vibrations, a touring interactive art project for young people and adults with disabilities. The caravan, designed by artists Bruce Odland and Michael Luck Schneider, is fitted with technical devices that create sensory responses to sights, sounds and vibrations.The dedicated Bella Room was installed in the National Centre for Creative learning in 2012. Each year a new artist is commissioned to produce a work in the Bella Room concerned with a different type of disability. The room offers a sensory environment in which students, led by artist-educators, can interact with art.

GENEXT

'GENEXT' has been held since 2005 as a public engagement program aimed at young people aged from 12 to 18, run by MCA's Youth Committee. GENEXT is an after-hours program that includes activities such as live music, discussions, and art workshops.WEB, Evaluating with the next Generation,weblink Boyce, Brooke, 2018, Patternmakers, {{dead|date=August 2023}} It is held four times annually and included over 16,000 participants over the course of its first ten years of operation.PRESS RELEASE, Genext Turns 10! on Art.Base.BASE,weblink Art.Base, Museum of Contemporary Art, 2 November 2015, 28 August 2021, In collaboration with the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Museum of Contemporary Art takes part in the Sydney Festival and the Biennale of Sydney, an event held partially online in 2020 due to the pandemic.WEB, The End of the Art World as We Know It,weblink April 4, 2020, Hyperallergic, en-US, 28 August 2021,

MCA Zine Fair

The annual MCA Zine Fair, first held in 2008, is organised in conjunction with the Sydney Writers' Festival. Held on the front lawn of the MCA, it features over 50 stalls of new and established zine artists.JOURNAL, Cox, Debbie, August 2009, Marjorie Currie, Zooming into the world of comics, graphic novels and zines,weblink National Library of Australia Gateways, 100, Trove, 28 August 2021,

The Artful: Art and Dementia

In 2016, The Artful: Art and Dementia program was launched as a three-year research collaboration between the MCA, the Brain and Mind Centre, the University of Sydney and Dementia Australia with the goal of establishing a link between art and enhanced neuroplasticity.JOURNAL, Howarth, Lynne C., 2019, Dementia Friendly Memory Institutions: Designing a Future for Remembering,weblink The International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion, 4, 20–41, The program continues annually.WEB, Artful: Art and Dementia,weblink Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2021, 27 December 2021, The six-week program includes a tour of selected works throughout the museum, weekly two-hour creative art-making sessions with trained artist-educators, and an 'Artful at home' package containing materials for art-making at home. The final week of the program is an exhibition session, in which participants' friends and family are invited to view their art. In 2020, the program launched an online digital toolkit to enable offsite participation.WEB, Morris, Linda, 2020-02-26, Artpacks designed to empower dementia sufferers become national tool,weblink 2021-05-19, The Sydney Morning Herald, en,

See also

{{stack|}}

• Architecture of Sydney
• List of art museums and galleries in Australia
• List of contemporary art museums
• List of most-visited art museums
• List of museums in Sydney

Notes

{{notelist}}

References

{{reflist}}

External links

{{commons category}}

• Museum of Contemporary Art official website
• weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120730142322weblink">Archived version of Museum of Contemporary Art Artabase page
• WEB,weblink Commissariat Stores, 2008, Dictionary of Sydney, Dictionary of Sydney Trust, (Building that formerly occupied site, demolished 1939.)
• Museum of Contemporary Art Australia within Google Arts & Culture

{{The Rocks historical attractions|state=collapsed}}{{Sydney landmarks|state=collapsed}}{{authority control}}