Posted June 3, 2024 by Raquel Stecher Documentaries

Museum Town (2019)

“Building MASS MoCA from the ground up consumed the next 28 years of my life. Those of us who took part in its evolution know that we experienced something rare. I’ve moved on from the museum, but I knew I had to finish writing the story I’d started nearly three decades ago.

It was simply too big, too beautiful, too improbable to leave untold.”
Director Jennifer Trainer

When The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) was conceived it was a revolutionary idea. Instead of fitting the mold of what was expected for an art museum, the team behind MASS MoCA sought out a space beyond the confines of a metropolitan center. Presenting contemporary art—which already breaks many rules on its own—in a larger space and in an area you wouldn’t expect meant limitless possibilities but also an uphill battle just to get the project started. MASS MoCA opened in 1999 in the former Sprague Electric factory in North Adams, MA. This small New England city used to be a thriving hub of factories but like many other cities in America felt the economic after effects when many of these factories closed in the 1980s. MASS MoCA took over a large campus of building complete with bridges and moats and 100k square feet of gallery space. They believed in a light touch; keeping the integrity of the buildings and maintaining their historic dignity while also making each building a functional gallery space. MASS MoCA transformed North Adams into an artist’s community and remains one of the largest spaces for contemporary art in the world.

On the 20th anniversary of MASS MoCA, the documentary Museum Town (2019) tells the fascinating story of the museum’s conception, development and present day work all in the scope of the people who made it happen and the community it exists in. The documentary was directed by Jennifer Trainer, a journalist who in the mid 1980s covered the story of MASS MoCA’s conception and soon became part of its development, Museum (2019). It includes narration by Meryl Streep as well as various talking heads, including local politicians, museum curators and a volunteer who had worked for over 40 years at Sprague and continued to dedicated herself to the campus that had meant so much to her. I was particularly interested in how the film followed the exhibition of artist Nick Cave known for his mixed media art which includes sculptures, found objects and performance art. We get insight into what it takes to plan and install a large scale contemporary art exhibit.

Museum Town beautifully captures a community in transition and a space that offers limitless possibilities for displaying contemporary art in its many forms. It will have you booking your trip to North Adams for a visit.